S^.  Paul's 


Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 


A   Practical  Exposition 


By  CHARLES    GORE,  M.A.,  D.D. 

OF    THE    COMMUNITY    OF    THE    RESURRECTION 
CANON    OF    WESTMINSTER 


NEW  YORK 
CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 

153-157  FIFTH  AVENUE 
1898 


TO 

JAMES   L.   HOUGHTELING 

OF   CHICAGO 

THE   FOUNDER  AND  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  BROTHERHOOD 

OF   ST.  ANDREW 

AND    TO    ALL    THE    BROTHERHOOD 

WHICH     IN     MORE     SENSES     THAN     ONE 

HE    REPRESENTS 


PREFACE 


The  favourable  reception  accorded  to  an 
exposition  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  has 
encouraged  me  to  attempt  another  practical  ex- 
planation of  a  portion  of  the  New  Testament,  in 
the  interest  of  such  readers  as  are  intelligent  in- 
deed, but  neither  are  nor  hope  to  become  critical 
scholars.  An  immense  deal  has  been  done  of 
late  to  assist  New  Testament  scholarship,  but 
while  the  studies  of  the  scholar  make  progress, 
the  ordinary  Christian  ^  reading  of  the  Bible '  is, 
I  fear,  at  best  at  a  standstill.  This  little  book  then 
is  intended  to  make  one  of  St.  Paul's  epistles 
as  intelligible  as  may  be  to  the  ordinary  reader, 
and  so  to  enable  him  to  make  a  practical  reli- 
gious use  of  it,  'to  read,  mark,  learn  and 
inwardly  digest'  it. 


viii  Preface 


The  method  pursued,  in  the  main,  has  been 
to  let  each  section  of  the  epistle  be  preceded 
by  an  anatysis  or  paraphrase  of  the  teaching 
it  contains,  in  which  it  is  hoped  that  no  element 
in  the  teaching  is  left  unnoticed,  and  followed  by 
such  further  explanations  of  particular  phrases, 
or  practical  reflections,  as  seem  to  be  needed. 

I  have  avoided  as  far  as  possible  all  dis- 
cussion of  rival  views,  and  given  simply  what 
are,  in  my  judgement,  the  best  explanations. 

I  have  ventured  to  dedicate  this  book  to  the 
President  of  the  Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew, 
because  (see  app.  note  D,  p.  264)  that  society 
represents  surely  a  brave  attempt  to  realize 
some  of  the  chief  practical  lessons  which  this 
epistle  is  intended  to  enforce. 

CHARLES  GORE. 

Westminster  Abbey, 
Christmas,  1897. 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS 


Introduction.     .    Study  of  the  New  Testament        .  .         i 

The  gospel  of  the  Cathohc  Church  .         6 

The  Roman  Empire       ,         .         .  .20 

Ephesus  and  the  Ephesians  .  .       34 

The  letter — to  whom  written         .  .       43 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  EPHESIANS. 
Salutation  (i.  1-2) 

Division  I  (i.  3-iv.  17)  : 

§  I   (i.  3-14)  St.  Paul's  leading  thoughts  : 

life  in  Christ 

predestination    . 

the  elect    .... 

the  divine  secret  disclosed 

grace  not  merit 
§  2  (i.  15-23)         St.  Paul's  prayer  . 
§  3  (ii.  I -10)  Sin  and  redemption 

§  4  (ii.  11-22)        Salvation  in  the  Church 
§  5  (iii)  Paul  the  apostle  of  catholicity 

his  second  prayer 
§  6  (iv.  1-16)        The  unity  of  the  Church 


48 


54 
63 
69 
72 
74 
78 
89 
102 
121 

133 
140 


Contents 


Division  II  (iv,  17-vi.  24)  : 

Doctrine  and  conduct   . 
§  I   (iv.  17-24)        Christianity  a  new  life  . 
§  2  (iv.  25-32)       The  new  life  a  corporate  life 
§  3  (v.  I -14)  The  new  life  an  imitation  of  God   . 

and  a  life  in  the  light 
§  4  (v.  15-21)         The  new  life  a  buying  up  of  an  oppor 

tunity  .... 

§  5  (v.  22-vi.  9)    The  law  of  subordination  and  authority 
husbands  and  wives  (v.  22-33)  • 
parents  and  children  (vi.  1-4;     . 
masters  and  slaves  (vi.  5-9) 
§  6  (vi.  10-20)       The  personal  spiritual  struggle 


Conclusion  (vi.  21-24) 


172 
178 
184 
192 
194 

204 
211 
2ia 
228 
233 
237 

248 


APPENDED    NOTES:— 

A.  The  Roman  Empire    recognized   by  Christians  as  a 

Divine  Preparation  for  the  Spread  of  the  Gospel     .     251 

B.  The  (so-called)  '  Letters  of  Heracleitus '     .         .         .     253 

C.  The  Jewish  Doctrine  of  Works  in  The  Apocalypse  of 

Baruch    .........     257 

D.  The  Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew         ....     264 

E.  The  Conception  of  the  Church  Catholic  in  St.  Paul  in 

its  Relation  to  Local  Churches         ....     267 

F.  The  Ethics  of  Catholicism 271 

G.  The  Lambeth  Conference  and  Industrial  Problems     .     274 


THE 
EPISTLE  TO  THE  EPHESIANS 


Introduction. 


There  are  two  great  rivers  of  Europe  which, 
in  their  course,  offer  a  not  uninstructive  analogy 
to  the  Church  of  God.  The  Rhine  and  the 
Rhone  both  take  their  rise  from  mountain 
glaciers,  and  for  the  first  hundred  or  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  from  their  sources  they  run  turbid 
as  glacier  streams  always  are,  and  for  the  most 
part  turbulent  as  mountain  torrents.  Then  they 
enter  the  great  lakes  of  Constance  and  Geneva. 
There,  as  in  vast  settling-vats,  they  deposit  all 
the  discolouring  elements  which  have  hitherto 
defiled  their  waters,  so  that  when  they  re-emerge 
from  the  western  ends  of  the  lakes  to  run  their 
courses  in  central  and  southern   Europe  their 

B 


f 


2  The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

waters  have  a  translucent  purity  altogether 
delightful  to  contemplate.  After  this  the  two 
rivers  have  very  different  destinies,  but  either 
from  fouler  affluents  or  from  the  commercial 
activity  upon  their  surfaces  or  along  their  banks 
they  lose  the  purity  which  characterized  their 
second  birth,  and  become  as  foul  as  ever  they 
were  among  their  earher  mountain  fastnesses; 
till  after  all  vicissitudes  they  lose  themselves  to 
north  or  south  in  the  vast  and  cleansing  sea. 

The  history  of  these  rivers  offers,  I  say, 
a  remarkable  parallel  to  the  history  of  the 
Church  of  God.  For  that  too  takes  its  rude 
and  rough  beginnings  high  up  in  wild  and 
remote  fastnesses  of  our  human  history.  Such 
books  of  the  Old  Testament  as  those  of  Judges 
and  Samuel  and  Kings  represent  the  turbid  and 
turbulent  running  of  this  human  nature  of  ours, 
divinely  directed  indeed,  but  still  unpurified  and 
unregenerate.  But  in  the  great  lake  of  the 
humanity  of  Jesus  all  its  acquired  pollution  is 
cut  off.  In  Him,  virgin-born,  our  manhood  is 
seen  as  indeed  the  pure  mirror  of  the  divine 
glory;  and  when  at  Pentecost  the  Church  of  God 
issues  anew,  by  a  second  birth  of  that  glorified 
manhood,  for  its  second  course  in  this  world,  it 
issues  unmixed  with  aHen  influences,  substan- 


Introduction 


tially  pure  and  unsullied.  After  a  time  its  history 
gains  in  complexity  but  its  character  loses  in 
purity,  so  that  there  are  epochs  of  the  history  of 
the  Church  when  its  moral  level  is  possibly  not 
higher  than  that  which  is  represented  in  the 
roughest  books  of  the  Old  Testament :  and 
through  the  whole  of  its  later  history  the  Church 
is  strangely  fused  with  the  world  again,  until 
they  issue  both  together  into  eternity. 

Men  from  all  parts  of  the  world  visit  Constance 
and  Geneva,  and  delight  to  look  at  the  two  famous 
rivers  issuing  pure  and  abundant  from  the  quiet 
lakes.  An  analogous  pleasure  belongs  to  the 
study  of  such  books  of  the  New  Testament  as 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  and  St.  Paul's  Epistle 
to  the  Ephesians,  which  give  us  respectively  the 
fortunes  and  the  theory  of  the  Church  at  its 
origin.  Later  epochs  of  Church  history  have 
possibly  more  richly  diversified  interests — such 
as  the  period  of  the  Councils,  or  the  Middle 
Ages,  or  the  Reformation.  But  the  interest  of 
the  earliest  Church  unmixed  with  the  world, 
its  principles  fresh,  its  inspirations  strong,  its 
native  hue  free  from  discolouring  elements, 
preoccupies  us  with  a  fascination  which  is 
unrivalled.  The  divine  society  is  young  and 
inexperienced,    but    what    it    is    nnd    is    meant 

B  2 


4  The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

to  be  we  can  see  there  better  than  anywhere 
else.  We  return,  when  our  minds  are  aching 
and  our  eyes  are  dim  with  the  complexity  and 
obscurity  of  our  latter-day  problem,  to  learn 
insight  and  simphcity  again  at  those  pure 
sources. 

And  to  the  Christian  believer  these  books  are 
not  only  documents  of  great  historical  impor- 
tance as  illustrative  of  a  unique  period :  they 
also  represent  to  us  in  different  forms  the 
highest  level  of  that  action  of  the  divine  Spirit 
upon  the  mind  of  man  which  we  call  inspiration. 
St.  Paul  for  instance,  in  this  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians  claims,  as  we  shall  find,  to  be  an 
^  inspired  '  man,  a  recipient  of  divine  revelation, 
and  makes  a  similar  claim  for  the  apostles  and 
prophets  generally.  *  By  revelation,'  he  says, 
*  God  made  known  unto  me  the  mystery  (or  divine 
secret),  as  I  wrote  afore  in  few  words,  whereby, 
when  ye  read,  ye  can  perceive  my  understanding 
in  the  mystery  of  Christ ;  which  in  other  ages 
was  not  made  known  unto  the  sons  of  men,  as  it 
hath  now  been  revealed  unto  his  holy  apostles 
and  prophets  in  the  Spirit.'  Inspiration  is  a  term 
not  easily  susceptible  of  definition.  We  are 
inchned  in  our  generation  to  recognize  its  Hmits 
more  frankly  than  has  been  done  in  the  past,  and 


InU'oduclion 


its  compatibilit}^  even  with  positive  error  on 
subjects  which  are  matter  of  ordinary  human 
inquiry  and  not  of  divine  revelation  ^ ;  but  its 
positive  meaning  in  the  region  of  divine  reve- 
lation—in what  concerns  God's  moral  will, 
purpose,  character  and  being,  and  the  con- 
sequent moral  and  spiritual  significance  of  our 
human  life — ought  not  to  be  less  apparent  to 
us  than  formerly.  Thus  Vv^hen  we  call  a  writer 
of  the  New  Testament  '  inspired '  we  must  mean 
at  least  this  :  that  the  same  divine  Spirit  who 
put  the  message  of  God  in  the  hearts  of  the 
prophets  of  old,  and  who  worked  His  perfect 
work  without  let  and  hindrance  in  the  man- 
hood of  Christ,  is  here  so  working  upon  the 
will  and  imagination,  the  memory  and  intel- 
ligence, of  one  of  Christ's  commissioned  wit- 
nesses as  that  he  shall  interpret  and  not 
misinterpret  the  mind  and  person  of  his  Master. 
Practically,  an  inspired  writer  of  the  New 
Testament  means  a  writer  under  whom  we  can 
put  ourselves  to  school  to  '  learn  Christ '  with 

^  The  Committee  of  the  Conference  of  Bishops  at  Lambeth, 
1897,  in  a  report  commended  b^'  the  bishops  as  a  body  to  the 
'consideration  of  all  Christian  people,'  write:  'Your  committee 
do  not  hold  that  a  true  view  of  Holy  Scripture  forecloses  any 
legitimate  question  about  the  literary  character  or  literal  accuracy 
of  different  parts  or  statements  of  the  Old  Testament,' 


6  The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

whole-hearted  confidence  and  faith.  This,  of 
course,  gives  an  additional  reason  of  the  most 
cogent  force  why  we  should  continually  recur 
to  the  sacred  books  of  the  New  Testament.  If 
Christianity  is  to  be  deterred  from  a  fatal  return 
to  nature — that  is  to  the  religious  or  irreligious 
tendencies  of  mankind  when  left  to  itself — or  if 
it  is  to  be  recalled  when  it  has  lapsed,  this  can 
only  be  by  an  appeal  to  Scripture  constantly 
reiterated  and  pressed  home.  There  is  for  ever 
the  testing-ground  alike  of  doctrine,  of  moral 
character,  and  of  ecclesiastical  tendency ;  there 
is  the  only  perfect  image  of  the  mind  of  Christ. 

ii. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  gives  us  St. 
Paul's  gospel  of  the  Catholic  Church.  So  far 
from  being  a  man  of  one  idea,  St.  Paul  fas- 
cinates and  sometimes  bewilders  us  by  the 
intricacy  and  variety  of  his  thoughts ;  but  like 
the  innumerable  leaves  and  twigs  of  some  finely- 
grown  tree  which  emerge,  all  of  them,  through 
branches  and  boughs,  out  of  one  great  trunk, 
strong  and  straight,  and  one  deep  and  firmly-set 
root,  so  it  is  with  the  infinitely  various  topics 
and  suggestions  of  St.  Paul.     They  run  back 


Introduction 


into  a  few  dominant  thoughts,  which  in  their 
turn  have  one  trunk-hne  of  developement  and 
one  root.  The  root  is  the  conviction,  finally 
smitten  into  the  soul  of  St.  Paul  at  the  moment 
of  his  conversion  on  the  road  to  Damascus, 
that  Jesus  is  the  Christ ;  and  the  trunk-line  of 
development  is  that  which  is  involved  in  St. 
Paul's  special  commission  to  preach  the  gospel 
to  the  Gentiles,  that  is  to  say,  the  principle  that 
the  Christ  is  the  saviour  of  Gentiles  as  of 
Jews  and  on  an  equal  basis — or  in  other  words, 
that  the  Christian  church  is  catholic. 

When  St.  Paul  acknowledged  that  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  was  the  Christ,  this  of  course  meant 
that  he  remained  no  less  than  formerly  an 
adherent  of  the  Jewish  faith,  and  that  he  'wor- 
shipped '  without  any  breach  of  continuity,  *  the 
God  of  his  fathers.'  So  he  is  fond  of  insisting  ^ 
Thus  to  him  the  Church  of  Christ  is  still  '  the 
commonwealth  of  Israel,'  God's  ancient  church, 
though  reconstructed  ^.  For  the  religion  of  Israel 
had  had  for  its  main  motive  the  hope  of  the 
Christ.  All  that  St.  Paul  now  beheved  was  that 
this  hope  had  been  realized,  and  realized  to  the 
shame  of  Israel  in  One  whom  they  had  rejected 

*  Acts  xxiv,  14  ;  xxvi.  6,  7,  22,  23 ;  2  Tim.  i.  3. 
^  Eph.  ii.  12-19. 


8  The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

and  crucified.  But  if  to  believe  that  Jesus  was 
the  Christ  involved  no  breach  with  the  religion 
of  Israel,  yet  it  did  involve  the  recognition  that 
it  had  been  reconstituted  on  a  new  basis,  and 
in  a  way  that  suggested  to  existing  Israelites 
nothing  less  than  a  revolution.  The  church 
of  God  had,  in  St.  PauFs  present  belief, 
widened  out  from  being  the  church  of  one 
nation  into  being  a  catholic  society,  a  society 
for  all  mankind. 

If  St.  Paul's  epistles  are  taken  in  those 
groups  into  which  they  naturally  divide  them- 
selves, we  find  that  in  the  first  group,  that  of 
the  two  epistles  to  the  Thessalonians,  all  his 
favourite  topics  are  present  as  it  were  in  the 
germ,  but  nothing  that  is  specially  characteristic 
of  him  is  yet  developed.  The  free  admission 
of  the  Gentiles  into  the  Church  is,  with  the 
accompanying  hostihty  of  the  Jews,  assumed  \ 
but  not  much  insisted  upon ;  but  in  the  interval 
between  these  epistles  and  that  to  the  Gala- 
tians  the  subject  had  gained  fresh  and  poignant 
interest.  A  party  of  Christians  having  their 
centre  at  Jerusalem  had  been  trying — in  spite 
of  the  decision  of  the  apostohc  council  at  Jeru- 
salem— to   reimpose   upon   the   consciences   of 

^  I  Thess.  ii.  14-16. 


Introduction 


Gentile  Christians,  and  with  especial  success  in 
the  Galatian  province,  the  obligation  of  circum- 
cision ;  or  in  other  words  had  been  trying  to 
make  it  evident  that  the  Church  of  God  was 
as  much  as  ever  the  people  of  the  Jews,  and 
that  Gentiles  could  only  become  Christians  b}^ 
becoming  also  Jewish  prosel3^tes  pledged  to 
keep  the  law  of  Moses.  In  view  of  this  attempt 
St.  Paul  re-embarks  upon  his  great  campaign  for 
the  catholicity  of  the  Church,  and  in  his  epistles 
of  the  second  group  ^  (especially  those  to  the 
Galatians  and  the  Romans)  the  catholicity  of 
Christianity  is  vindicated  controversially  upon 
the  basis  of  the  principle  oi  justification  by  faith ^ 
not  by  works  of  the  taw. 

The  meaning  and  real  importance  of  this 
doctrine  ought  not  to  be  hard  for  us  to  under- 
stand. To  be  justified  means  to  be  accepted 
or  acquitted  by  God.  The  Judaizers— that  is 
the  Christian  representatives  of  the  narrower 
religious  spirit  of  Israel  -held  that,  as  God's 
covenant  was  with  the  Jews  only,  so  men 
could  obtain  acceptance  simply  by  the  obser- 
vance of  that  Mosaic  law  which  was  to  the 
Jew  at  once  the  expression  of  the  divine  selec- 
tion of  his  race,  and  the  grounds  of  his  arrogant 

'  Galatians,  i  and  2  Corinthians,  Romans. 


lo         The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

contempt  for  all  who  had  not  'Abraham  to  their 
father  ^'  But  St.  Paul  had  made  trial  of  that 
theory,  and  had  found  it  wanting.  The  obser- 
vance of  the  law  and  the  glorying  in  Jewish 
privileges  had  brought  him  no  peace  with  God : 
had  in  fact  served  only  to  produce  and  deepen 
a  sense  of  inner  alienation  from  God  and  con- 
viction of  sin.  Thus  in  acknowledging  the 
messiahship  of  that  Jesus  whom  the  chosen 
people  had  rejected  and  surrendered  to  be 
crucified,  he  was  abandoning  utterly  and  for 
ever  the  standing-ground  of  Jewish  pride :  he 
was  acknowledging  that  the  only  divine  function 
of  the  law  was  to  convince  men  of  sin,  and  of 
their  need  of  pardon  and  salvation  :  he  was 
taking  his  stand  as  a  sinner  among  the  Gentiles, 
and  humbly  welcoming  the  unmerited  boon  of 
pardon  and  acceptance  from  the  hand  of  the 
divine  mercy  in  Christ  Jesus.  When  St.  Paul 
in  familiar  arguments,  from  the  witness  of  the 
Old  Testament  itself,  and  from  the  moral  ex- 
perience of  men,  convicts  the  law  of  inadequacy 
as  an  instrument  of  justification,  his  reasoning 
is  full  of  a  strong  feehng  and  conviction  bred  of 
his  own  experiences.  The  true  means  of  justifi- 
cation, he  has  come  to  perceive,  is  faith,  that  is, 

^  See  app.  note  C,  p.  257. 


Introduction 


II 


the  simple  acceptance  of  the  divine  favour  freely 
offered,  and  this  is  something  that  belongs  to 
no  special  race,  but  to  all  men  as  such.  For 
all  men  everywhere,  to  whom  the  light  comes, 
can  know  that  they  are  sinners  in  the  sight  of 
God,  and  can  accept  simply  from  the  hand 
of  the  divine  bounty  the  unmerited  boon  of 
forgiveness  and  acceptance  in  Christ.  Thus,  if 
faith  and  faith  alone  is  that  whereby  men  are 
justified  or  commended  to  God,  then  at  once 
the  catholic  basis  of  the  reconstituted  Church 
is  secured.  All  men  can  belong  to  it  who  can 
feel  their  need  and  hear  the  Gospel  and  take 
God  at  His  word.  This  is  the  great  principle 
vindicated  in  the  compressed  and  fiery  argu- 
ments of  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  and  then 
subsequently  developed  in  the  calmer  and 
orderly  procedure  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 
But  in  the  next  group  of  epistles,  written  out 
of  that  captivity  at  Rome  the  record  of  which 
closes  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  the  same  doctrine 
of  the  catholicity  of  the  Church  is  developed 
from  a  different  point  of  view.  Now  it  is  the 
thought  of  the  person  of  Christ  which  has  come 
to  occupy  the  foreground.  All  along  St.  Paul 
had  believed  that  Christ  was  the  Son  of  God, 
the  divine  mediator  of  creation^  who  in  these 


12         The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

latter  days  had  for  our  sakes  humbled  Himself 
to  be  made  man  \  But  this  thought  of  Christ's 
person  is  elaborated  and  brought  into  prominence 
in  the  third  group  of  epistles  ^,  especially  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Colossians.  A  tendency  derived 
from  Jewish  sources  was  manifesting  itself  among 
some  of  the  Asiatic  Christians  to  exalt  angelic 
beings,  conceived  probably  as  representing  divine 
attributes  and  powers,  into  objects  of  religious 
worship  •'.  There  is  a  certain  spurious  humihty 
which  has  in  many  ages,  and  not  least  in  the 
Christian  Church,  led  men  to  shrink  from  direct 
approach  to  the  high  and  holy  God  and  to  resort 
to  lower  mediators,  as  more  suitable  to  their 
defiled  condition  and  weakness.  This  sort  of 
spurious  humility  was  already  detected  by 
St.  Paul,  in  company  with  other  Judaizing  and 
falsely  ascetic  tendencies,  as  a  peril  of  the  Asiatic 
churches,  and  especially  of  the  Colossians. 

But  he  will  make  no  terms  with  it.  Christ 
he  teaches  is  the  only  and  the  universal  me- 
diator, the  one  and  only  reconciler  of  all  things 
to  the  Father.     And  He  is  this  because  of  the 

^  Acts  ix.  20 ;  I  Cor.  viii.  6 ;  Rom.  ix.  5  ;  2  Cor.  viii.  9 ;  Gal. 
iv.  4. 

2  Colossians,  Ephesians,  Philemon. 

'  Col.  ii.  18:  'by  a  voluntary  humility  (or 'taking  delight  in 
humility')  and  worshipping  of  the  angels.' 


Introduction  13 


position  that  belongs  to  His  person  in  the  uni- 
verse as  a  whole.  He,  as  the  Father's  image  or 
counterpart,  is  His  unique  agent  in  all  the  work 
of  creation.  All  created  things  whatever,  from 
the  lowest  to  the  highest,  seen  or  unseen,  be 
they  thrones  or  dominions  or  principahties  or 
powers,  are  the  work  of  His  hand.  All  were 
created  through  Him  and  have  Him  for  their 
end  or  goal,  and  He  is  the  sustaining  life  of  the 
whole  universe  in  all  its  parts.  *  In  Him  all 
things  consist'  or  have  their  unity  in  a  system. 
And  because  He  occupies  this  position  in  the 
whole  universe,  therefore  a  similar  position  and 
sovereignty  belong  to  Him.  in  the  spiritual 
kingdom  of  redemption.  There  too  He  is, 
through  His  manhood  and  His  sacrificial  death 
upon  the  cross,  the  unique  author  of  the  recon- 
ciliation with  God.  He  is  by  His  spirit  the 
inherent  life  of  the  redeemed,  and  the  goal  of  all 
their  perfecting.  There  is,  in  fact,  no  divine 
quality,  or  attribute,  or  activity  of  God  towards 
His  creatures  which  is  not  His.  In  Him  it 
pleased  the  Father  that  all  the  fulness  of  divine 
attributes  and  offices  should  dwell,  and  in  Him 
as  Son  of  God  made  man  dwells  all  this  fulness 
bodily.  The  divine  attributes,  that  is,  are  not 
committed  to  a  number  of  different  m.ediators. 


14        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

They  exist  and  are  exercised  in  Him  and  in  Him 
alone.  It  follows  therefore  as  a  matter  of  course 
from  this  position  of  Christ  in  the  universe  and 
in  the  church  that  the  redemption  effected  by 
Him  must  be  universal  in  range  and  must  extend 
equally  and  impartially  to  all.  There  '  cannot  be 
Greek  and  Jew,  circumcision  and  uncircumcision, 
barbarian  and  Scythian,  bond  and  free,  but  Christ 
is  all  and  in  all.' 

Thus  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians^  the 
doctrine  of  the  catholicity  of  Christianity  is  again 
vindicated  controversially,  and  logically  based 
upon  the  catholic  character  of  Christ  and  upon 
His  universal  function  in  creation  and  redemp- 
tion ;  and  in  the  contemporary  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians,  without  note  of  controversy,  the  doc- 
trine of  the  catholic  church,  the  brotherhood  of 
all  men  in  Christ,  the  doctrine  which  is,  we  may 
truly  say,  the  culmination  of  all  St.  Paul's  teach- 
ing, is  allowed  to  develope  itself  in  all  its  glory  on 
the  assumed  basis  of  that  teaching  about  Christ's 
person  which  had  made  any  narrower  idea  of 
the  church  already  seem  incongruous  and  impos- 
sible. In  the  earher  dispensation  in  which  the 
covenant  of  God  was  with  one  people,  St.  Paul 
can    see   only  a  preparatory  process   through 

*  Sec  i.  13-20;   ii.  2.  3,  9-23;   iii.  11.     Cf.  i.  27-28. 


Introdviction  15 


which  the  eternal  purpose  of  God  could  at  last 
be  realized,  and  out  of  which  His  eternal  secret 
could  at  last  be  disclosed.  That  purpose  so 
long  kept  secret,  and  now  revealed,  is  to  gather 
together  all  nations  and  classes  of  men  into  the 
one  Church  of  God,  one  organized  body,  one 
brotherhood  in  which  all  men  are  to  find  their 
salvation,  and  through  which  is  to  be  realized 
an  even  wider  purpose  for  the  whole  universe. 
In  this  doctrine  of  the  catholic  church  St.  Paul 
finds  the  expression  of  all  the  length  and  breadth 
and  height  and  depth  of  the  divine  love.  Its 
length,  for  it  represents  an  age-long  purpose 
slowly  worked  out ;  its  breadth,  for  it  is  a  society 
of  all  men  and  for  the  whole  universe  ;  its  depth, 
for  God  has  reached  a  hand  of  mercy  down  to 
the  lowest  gulfs  of  sin  and  alienation  from  God ; 
its  height,  for  in  this  society  men  are  carried  up 
into  nothing  less  than  union  with  God,  to  no 
lower  seat  than  the  heavenly  places  in  Christ. 

I  have  spoken  of  St.  Paul's  great  arguments 
for  the  catholicity  of  the  Gospel  as  two.  The 
first  appears  maintyas  a  polemic  against  the  idea 
of  justification  by  works  of  the  law.  The 
second  as  a  positive  argument  about  the  person 
of  Christ  and  the  results  which  flow  from  the 
right   appreciation    of  it.     But  in  fact   there  is 


i6        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

a  necessary  connexion  between  the  two.  The 
narrow  Judaism  of  the  Galatian  reactionaries  did 
in  fact  logically  involve  a  narrow  and  therefore 
a  false  conception  of  the  person  of  Christ.  As 
Dr.  Hort  expresses  it\  'to  accept  Jesus  as  the 
Christ  without  any  adequate  enlargement  of 
what  was  included  in  the  Messiahship  could 
hardly  fail  to  involve  either  limitation  of  His 
nature  to  the  human  sphere,  or  at  most  a  count- 
ing Him  among  the  angels.'  This  logical  con- 
nexion was  in  fact  verified  in  history.  The 
Judaizers  of  the  earliest  period  of  Christian 
history  who  insisted  on  circumcision  for  all 
Christians  pass  into  the  Ebionites  of  the  second 
century  who  rejected  the  Church's  doctrine  of 
the  person  of  Christ,  as  the  eternal  Son  of  God. 
And  conversely  it  would  be  scarcely  possible  to 
accept  the  doctrine  of  the  universal  Christ,  both 
divine  and  human,  as  St.  Paul  developes  it, 
without  perceiving  that  men  must  be  made  ac- 
ceptable to  Him  and  to  His  Father  by  something 
deeper  and  wider  than  any  particular  set  of 
observances  or  '  works.'  The  relation  therefore 
between  the  argument  of  St.  Paul's  epistles  to 
the  Galatians  and  the  Romans  on  the  one  side, 
and  that  of  his  epistles  to  the  Colossians  and 

^  Yioxi^  J udaisHc  Christianity  i^\?if:vcv\\^r\,  1894),  p.  125. 


Introduction  17 


the  Ephesians  on  the  other  is  one  of  unity  rather 
than  of  contrast. 

The  relation  of  these  two  groups  of  epistles 
may  be  expressed  also  in  another  way.  The 
argument  of  the  earlier  epistles  is  directed 
towards  the  Judaizers.  Its  purpose  is  to  vindi- 
cate the  right  of  the  Gentiles  to  an  equal  place 
and  position  with  the  Jews  in  the  kingdom  of 
God.  But  at  the  time  of  the  later  group  this 
right  had  been  secured.  On  the  basis  of  their 
acknowledged  title  the  ingress  of  Gentiles  into 
the  churches  of  Asia  had  been  even  alarmingly 
rapid.  Now  it  is  time  for  St.  Paul  to  address 
himself  to  these  emancipated  Gentiles  and  to 
exhort  them  in  their  turn  not  to  relapse  into 
unworthy  and  narrow  conceptions  of  their 
redeemer,  or  into  conduct  unworthy  of  their 
new  position :  they  must  *  walk  worthily  of  the 
vocation  wherewith  they  are  called.' 

Our  present  political  situation  in  England 
offers  an  analogy  which  may  bring  home  to  us 
the  position  of  the  Gentile  Christians  and  the 
function  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians.  The 
time  is  past  for  us  when  there  is  any  neces- 
sity to  contend  that  a  vote  should  be  given  to 
all  responsible  men.  So  far  at  least  as  the  male 
population  is  concerned,  the  title  of  the  citizen 

c 


\ 


i8        T/ie  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

to  the  vote  has  been  substantially  acknowledged ; 
but  the  time  is  by  no  means  past  when  the 
newly  enfranchised  citizens  need  to  be  stimulated 
to  realize  what  their  enfranchisement  carries 
with  it  of  privilege  and  responsibility.  And  we 
may  express  this  by  saying  that  if  our  English 
political  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  has  been 
written  and  has  done  its  work,  our  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians  is  still  surely  very  much  needed. 

It  is  very  strange,  or  at  least  would  be  strange 
if  we  were  not  acquainted  with  the  historical 
circumstances  that  have  accounted  for  it,  that 
St.  Paul  has  been,  out  of  all  proportion  to  the 
facts  of  the  case,  identified  in  popular  estimation 
with  only  the  earlier  of  the  two  great  arguments 
described  above,  with  that  which  has  given  the 
basis  to  Protestantism,  and  not  that  which  is,  in 
fact,  the  charter  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

We  are  all  famihar  with  the  fact  that  St.  Paul 
taught  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith,  and 
insisted  therefore  on  the  necessity  and  privilege 
of  personal  acceptance  on  the  part  of  each 
individual  of  the  promises  of  God  in  Christ. 
We  all  know  how,  when  this  aspect  of  things  has 
been  ignored  and  over-ridden — when  an  almost 
Jewish  doctrine  of  the  merit  of  good  works  ^ 

*  Cf.  app.  note  C,  p.  257. 


Introduction  19 


has  been  current  in  Christendom — it  has  afforded 
a  pretext  for  a  Protestant  reaction  of  the  most 
individuahstic  kind,  of  the  kind  which  pays  no 
regard  to  outward  unity  or  cathohc  authority. 
But  certainly  in  St.  Paul's  own  teaching  there  is 
nothing  individuahstic  in  justifying  faith.  It  is 
that  by  which  man  wins  admittance  into  the 
body  of  Christ;  and  the  body  of  Christ  is  an 
organized  society,  a  catholic  brotherhood.  Sal- 
vation, as  we  shall  see,  is  as  much  social  or 
ecclesiastical  as  it  is  individual ;  and  perhaps 
there  is  nothing  more  wanted  to  correct  our 
ideas  of  what  St.  Paul  understood  by  justifying 
faith  than  an  impartial  study  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians.  It  is  true  that  this  great  epistle 
only  freely  developes  thoughts  which  were 
already  unmistakably  in  St.  Paul's  mind  when 
he  wrote  his  epistles  to  the  Corinthians,  and 
even  those  to  the  Thessalonians.  Already  the 
social  organization  of  the  Church  is  a  prominent 
topic,  and  the  ethics  of  Christianity  are  social 
ethics.  But  now,  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians,  the  idea  of  the  Church  has  become 
the  dominant  idea,  and  the  ethical  teaching  can 
be  justly  characterized  in  no  other  way  than  as 
a  Christian  socialism. 


c  2 


20         The  Epistle  to  the  Ephestans 

iii. 
But  it  is  time  to  examine  somewhat  more 
closely  the  circumstances  under  which  St.  Paul 
wrote  this  epistle  and  their  bearing  upon  its 
contents.  It  was  written  by  him  during  that 
imprisonment  at  Rome  ^  the  record  of  which 
brings  to  an  end  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  He 
can  therefore  put  into  his  appeals  all  the  force 
which  naturally  belongs  to  one  who  has  sacrificed 
himself  for  his  principles.  *  I,  Paul,'  he  writes, 
'the  prisoner  of  Jesus  Christ,  on  behalf  of 
you  Gentiles.'  He  speaks  of  himself  as  '  an 
ambassador  in  a  chain '  bound,  as  he  was  no 
doubt,  to  the  soldier  which  kept  him.  But  the 
fact  that  he  is  a  prisoner  does  not  occupy  a  great 
place  in  his  mind.  In  part  this  is  because  his 
imprisonment  was  not  of  a  highly  restrictive 
character.  The  Acts  conclude  by  telling  us  that 
he  was  allowed  to  dwell  in  his  own  hired 
dwelling  and  to  receive  all  that  came  to  him 
without  let  or  hindrance  to  his  preaching.  And 
the  tone  of  the  '  epistles  of  the  first  captivity '  is 
cheerful  as  to  the  present  and  hopeful  for  the 
future  ^.     But  it  is  more  important  to  notice  that 

^  Cf.  Hort,  Prolegomena  to  Romans  and  Ephestans  (Macmillan, 
1895),  p.  100. 

*  Col.  iv.  2-4  ;  Philemon  22 ;  Phil.  i.  12-14. 


Introduction  :ii 


the  thought  of  being  in  prison  is  apparently 
swallowed  up  in  St.  Paul's  imagination  by  other 
considerations.  For,  in  the  first  place,  St.  Paul 
was,  under  whatever  restraints,  at  Rome.  He 
had  reached  his  goal — a  new  centre  of  evan- 
gelization which  was  also  the  centre  of  the 
world.  Step  by  step  the  centre  of  Christian 
evangelization  had  passed  toward  Rome  as  its 
goal.  From  Jerusalem,  which  told  unmis- 
takably that  '  the  salvation  was  of  the  Jews,'  it 
had  moved  to  Antioch,  where  in  a  Greek  city 
Jew  met  Gentile  on  equal  terms.  From  Antioch, 
under  St.  Paul's  leadership,  it  had  passed  to 
Corinth  and  Ephesus.  These  were  indeed 
thoroughly  Gentile  cities,  and  leading  cities  of 
the  Empire,  but  they  were  provincial.  No  im- 
perial movement  could  rest  satisfied  till  it  estab- 
lished itself  at  the  centre  of  the  great  imperial 
organization— till  it  had  got  to  Rome. 

If  we  are  to  understand  at  all  adequately  the 
world  in  which  St.  Paul  wrote,  the  thought  of 
the  Roman  Empire  and  of  the  unity  which  it  was 
giving  the  world  must  be  clearly  before  our  minds : 
and  it  will  not  be  a  digression  if  we  pause  to  dwell 
upon  it  at  this  point  when  we  are  considering  the 
significance  of  St.  Paul's  situation  as  at  once  a 
prisoner  and  an  evangelist  in  the  great  capital. 


22         The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

The  Roman  Empire  brought  the  world,  that 
is  the  whole  of  the  known  world  which  was 
thought  worth  considering,  into  a  great  unity  of 
government.  What  had  once  been  independent 
kingdoms  had  now  become  provinces  of  the 
empire,  and  the  whole  of  the  Roman  policy 
was  directed  towards  drawing  closer  the  unity, 
and  educating  the  provinces  in  Roman  ideas  \ 

If  we  seek  to  define  Roman  unity  a  little  more 
closely  the  following  elements  will  be  found 
perhaps  the  most  important  for  our  purpose, 
(i)  It  was  a  unity  of  government  strongly  cen- 
trahzed  at  Rome  in  the  person  of  the  emperor. 
The  letters  of  a  provincial  governor  like  PHny 
to  his  master  Trajan  at  Rome  reveal  to  us  how 
even  trivial  matters,  such  as  the  formation  of 
a  guild  of  firemen  in  Pliny's  province  of 
Bithynia,  were  referred  up  to  the  emperor. 
Roman  government  was  in  fact  personal  and 
centralized  in  a  very  complete  sense,  and  had 
the  uniformity  which  accompanies  such  a  con- 
dition. (2)  This  centralized  personal  govern- 
ment is,  of  course,  only  possible  where  there  is 
a  well-organized  system  of  inter-communication 
between  the  widely-separated  parts  of  a  great 

'  Ramsay,  Paul  the  Traveller  (Hodder  and  Stoughton,  1895', 
pp.  130  AT. 


Introduction  23 


empire.  And  there  was  this  to  an  amazing 
extent  in  the  Roman  empire.  We  find  evi- 
dence of  it  in  the  great  roads  representing 
a  highly  developed  system  of  travelling.  *  It  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  travelling  was  more 
highly  developed  and  the  dividing  power  of 
distance  was  weaker  under  the  Empire  than  at 
any  time  before  or  since  until  we  come  down  to 
the  present  century.'  This  is  what  gives  such 
a  modern  and  cosmopolitan  flavour  to  the  lives 
of  men  of  the  Empire  as  unHke  one  another  in 
other  respects  as  Strabo  and  Jerome.  We  find 
the  evidence  of  such  a  system  of  inter-communi- 
cation also,  and  not  less  impressively,  in  the 
multiplied  proofs  afforded  to  us  that  every 
movement  of  thought  in  the  Empire  must 
needs  pass  to  Rome  and  establish  itself  there. 
The  rapid  arrival  of  all  oriental  tendencies  or 
beliefs  at  Rome  was,  of  course,  what  from  the 
point  of  view  of  conservative  Romans  meant 
the  destruction  of  all  that  they  valued  in 
character  and  ideals.  '  The  Orontes  had  poured 
itself  into  the  Tiber.'  But  it  was  none  the  less 
a  fact  of  the  utmost  significance  for  the  world's 
progress.  (3)  The  unity  of  the  Empire  depended 
largely  on  the  use  which  was  made  of  Greek 
civilization  and  Greek  language.     The  Empire 


24        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

may  be  rightly  described,  if  we  are  considering 
its  eastern  half,  as  Greek  no  less  than  Roman 
from  the  first.  Everywhere  it  was  the  Greek 
language  which  was  the  instrument  of  Roman 
government,  and  Greek  civilization,  tempered  by 
somewhat  barbarous  Roman  '  games,'  which  was 
put  into  competition  with  local  customs  whether 
social  or  religious^.  (4)  Lastly,  to  a  very  real 
extent  the  Empire  was  aiming  at  the  establish- 
ment of  a  universal  religion.  Independent  local 
gods  and  local  cults  suited  well  enough  a  number 
of  independent  little  tribes  and  kingdoms,  but  it 
was  felt  instinctively  that  the  one  empire  involved 
also  one  religion,  and  with  more  or  less  of 
deliberate  intention  the  one  religion  was  pro- 
vided in  the  worship  of  the  emperor,  or,  perhaps 
we  should  say,  of  the  Empire. 

This  worship  of  the  emperor  has  been  among 
us  a  very  byword  for  what  is  monstrous  and 
uninteUigible.  It  bewilders  us  when  we  hear  of 
something  like  it  in  our  own  Indian  empire. 
And  yet  a  little  imagination  ought  to  show  us 
that  where  a  pure  monotheism  has  not  taught 
men  the  moral  purity  and  personal  character  of 
God — where  religion  is  either  pantheism,  the 
deification  of  the  one  life,  or  idolatry,  the  deifica- 

*  Ramsay,  /.  c.  p.  13a. 


Introduction  25 


tion  of  separate  forms  of  life — the  worship  of 
the  imperial  authority  is  intelligible  enough. 
Here  was  a  vast  power,  universal  in  its  range, 
mostly  beneficent,  and  yet  awful  in  its  limitless 
and  arbitrary  power  of  chastisement;  what 
should  it  be  but  divine,  like  nature,  and  an 
object  to  be  appealed  to,  propitiated,  worshipped? 
At  any  rate  the  cultus  of  the  emperor  spread  in 
the  Roman  world,  and  particularly  in  the  Asiatic 
provinces.  It  could  ally  itself  with  the  current 
pantheistic  philosophy  and  also  with  popular 
local  cults :  for  it  was  tolerant  of  all  and  could 
embrace  them  all,  or  in  some  cases  it  could 
identify  itself  with  them— the  emperor  being 
regarded  as  a  special  manifestation  of  the  local 
god.  And  it  made  itself  popular  through  games 
— wild  beast  shows  and  gladiatorial  contests — 
which  it  was  the  business  of  its  high  priests  or 
presidents  to  provide  or  to  organize.  Thus  it 
was  that  the  Roman  world  came  to  be  organized 
by  provinces  for  the  purposes  of  the  imperial 
religion,  and  the  provincial  presidents,  whom  we 
hear  of  in  the  Acts  as  '  Asiarchs '  or  *  chiefs  of 
Asia,'  and  from  other  sources  as  existing  in  the 
other  provinces— Galatarchs,  Bithyniarchs,  Syri- 
archs,  and  so  on— were  also  the  high  priests  of  the 
worship  of  the  Caesars,  by  which  it  was  sought 


26        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

to  make  religion,  like  everything  else,  contribute 
to  cement  imperial  unity  ^ 

Now  there  can  be  no  doubt  at  all,  if  we  look 
back  from  the  fourth  or  fifth  centuries  of  our 
era,  to  how  vast  an  extent  this  Roman  unity  had 
been  made  an  engine  for  the  propagation  of  the 
Church.  And  the  Christians — the  Spanish  poet 
Prudentius,  for  instance,  or  Pope  Leo  the  Great  ^ 
— betray  a  strong  consciousness  of  the  place 
held  by  the  empire  in  the  divine  preparation  for 
Christ.  For  long  periods  the  Roman  authority 
was  tolerant  of  Christianity  and  suffered  its 
propagation  to  go  on  in  peace ;  and  at  the  times 
when  it  became  alarmed  at  its  subversive  ten- 
dencies, and  turned  to  become  its  persecutor, 
still  the  Church  could  not  be  prevented  from 
using  the  imperial  organization,  its  roads  and 
its  means  of  communication.  Again,  every  step 
in  the  progress  of  the  Greek  language  facilitated 
the  spread  of  the  new  religion,  the  propagation 
of  which  was  through  Greek ;  and  conversely 
Christianity  became  an  instrum.ent  for  spreading 
the  use  of  this  language  which  previously  was 
making  but  a  poor  struggle  against  the  languages 

*  See  Mommsen,  Provinces  of  Roman  Empire  (Eng.  trans  ),  i. 
344  ff.  ;  Lightfoot,  Ign.  and  Polyc.  iii.  pp.  404  ff. 
^  App.  note  A,  p.  251. 


Introduction  27 


of  Asia  Minor;  for  it  is  apparently  a  simple 
mistake  to  suppose  that  even  the  apostles  were 
miraculously  dispensed  from  the  difficulties  of 
acquiring  new  languages,  and  were  enabled  to 
speak  all  languages  as  it  were  by  instinct. 
Even  the  imperial  religion  provided  a  framework 
to  facilitate  the  organization  of  that  still  more 
imperial  religion  which  it  found  indeed  absolutely 
incompatible  with  its  prerogatives,  but  in  which 
it  might  have  found  an  efficient  substitute  to 
accomplish  its  own  best  ends.  Thus  the  early 
Christian  apologist  Tatian  pleads  that  Christianity 
alone  could  supply  what  was  manifestly  needed 
for  a  united  world,  a  universal  moral  law  and 
a  universal  gratuitous  education  or  philosophy, 
open  to  rich  and  poor,  men  and  women,  alike  \ 
So  strong  in  fact  was  in  many  respects  the 
affinity  of  the  Empire  and  the  Church  that  the 
apologists  are  not  infrequently  able  to  claim, 
and  that  plausibly,  that  if  the  Roman  authorities 
were  ready  to  recognize  it,  they  would  find  in  the 
Church  their  most  efficient  ally. 

And  there  is  no  doubt  that  all  this  tendency 
to  use  the  empire  as  the  ally  and  instrument  of 
the  Church  began  with  St.  Paul.  The  closer 
St.  Paul's  evangelistic  travels  are  examined  the 

*  Tatian,  Ad  Graecos,  28,  32. 


28         The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

more  apparent  does  it  become  that  he,  the 
apostle  who  was  also  the  Roman  citizen,  was 
by  the  very  force  of  circumstances,  but  also 
probably  deliberately,  working  the  Church  on 
the  lines  of  the  empire.  '  The  classification 
adopted  in  Paul's  own  letters  of  the  churches 
which  he  founded,  is  according  to  provinces — 
Achaia,  Macedonia,  Asia,  and  Galatia ;  the  same 
fact  is  clearly  visible  in  the  narrative  of  Acts. 
It  guides  and  inspires  the  expressions  from  the 
time  when  the  apostle  landed  at  Perga.  At 
every  step  any  one  who  knows  the  country 
recognizes  that  the  Roman  division  is  imphed  \* 
Nor  can  we  fail  to  be  struck  with  the  regularity 
with  which  St.  Paul,  wherever  he  mentions  the 
Empire,  takes  it  on  its  best  side  and  represents 
it  as  a  divine  institution  whose  officers  are 
God's  ministers  for  justice  and  order  and  peace  ^. 
It  is  from  this  point  of  view  alone  that  he  will 
have  Christians  think  of  it  and  pray  for  it^ 
There  is  the  confidence  of  the  true  son  of  the 
empire  in  his  *  I  appeal  unto  Caesar^.' 

Further  than  this,  when  St.  Paul  is  addressing 
himself  to  Gentiles  who  had  received  no  leaven- 
ing of  Jewish  monotheism,  it  is  most  striking 

^  Ramsay,  /.  c.  p.  135.  ^  Rom.  xiii.  1-7  ;  cf.  ii.  Thess.  ii.  6. 

'   I  Tim.  ii.  i,  2.  *  Acts  xxv.  12. 


Introduction  29 


how  he  throws  himself  back  on  those  common 
philosophical  and  religious  ideas  which  were  per- 
meating the  thought  of  the  Empire.  'The 
popular  philosophy  inclined  towards  pantheism, 
the  popular  religion  was  polytheistic,  but  Paul 
starts  from  the  simplest  platform  common  to 
both.  There  exists  something  in  the  way  of 
a  divine  nature  which  the  religious  try  to  please 
and  the  philosophers  try  to  understand  ^'  Close 
parallels  to  St.  Paul's  language  in  his  two 
recorded  speeches  at  Lystra  and  at  Athens,  can 
be  found  in  the  writings  of  the  contemporary 
Stoic  philosopher  Seneca^,  and  in  the  so-called 
*  Letters  of  Heracleitus'  written  by  some  philo- 
sophic student  nearly  contemporar}^  with  St. 
Paul  at  Ephesus^  In  exposing  the  folly  of 
idolaters  he  was  only  doing  what  a  contemporary 
philosopher  was  doing  also,  and  repeating  ideas 
which  he  might  have  learnt  almost  as  readily  in 
the  schools  of  his  native  city  Tarsus — which 
Strabo  speaks  of  as  the  most  philosophical  place 
in  the  world,  and  the  place  where  philosophy 
was  most  of  all  an  indigenous  plant*— as  at  the 

'  Ramsay,  /.  c.  p.  147. 

^  Lightfoot,  Galaiians,  *  St.  Paul  and  Seneca/  pp.  287  flf. 
'  See  app.  note  B,  p.  253. 

♦  •  The  zeal  of  its  inhabitants  for  philosophy  and  general  culture 
is  such  that  they  have  surpassed  even  Athens  and  Alexandria  and 


30         The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

feet  of  Gamaliel  in  Jerusalem.  Certainly  Paul 
the  apostle  to  the  Gentiles  was  also  Saul  of 
Tarsus  and  the  citizen  of  the  Roman  Empire 
in  whose  mind  the  idea  and  sentiment  of  the 
empire  lay  already  side  by  side  with  the  idea  of 
the  catholic  church. 

Such  a  statement  as  has  just  been  given  of 
the  relation  of  the  Roman  organization  to  the 
Church  is  undoubtedly  true.  And  it  is  also  indis- 
putable that  St.  Paul  was  in  fact  the  pioneer  in 
using  the  empire  for  the  purposes  of  the  Church. 
But  it  is  more  questionable  to  what  extent  the 
idea  of  the  empire  as  the  handmaid  of  the 
Church  was  consciously  and  deliberately,  or  only 
unconsciously  or  instinctively,  present  to  his 
mind ;  and  in  particular  it  is  questionable  how  far 
the  peculiar  exaltation  of  the  epistles  of  the  first 
captivity  is  due  to  St.  Paul's  realization  that 
in  getting  to  Rome,  the  capital  and  centre  of 
the  Empire,  he  had  reached  a  goal  which  was 

all  other  cities  where  schools  of  philosophy  can  be  mentioned. 
And  its  pre-eminence  in  this  respect  is  so  great  because  there  the 
students  are  all  townspeople,  and  strangers  do  not  readily  settle 
there.'  Strabo,  xiv.  v.  13.  I  do  not  suppose  that  St.  Paul 
received  any  formal  education  in  Greek  schools  at  Tarsus.  But 
I  think  we  must  assume  that  at  some  period  St.  Paul  had  sufficient 
contact  with  Gentile  educated  opinion,  whether  at  Tarsus  or 
elsewhere,  to  be  acquainted  with  widely-spread  religious  and 
philosophical  tendencies. 


Introduction  31 


also  a  fresh  and  unique  starting-point  for  the 
evangelization  of  the  world. 

To  some  extent  this  must  certainly  have  been 
the  case  ^  While  he  is  at  Ephesus  ^  preaching, 
he  already  has  Rome  in  view,  and  a  sense  of 
unaccomphshed  purpose  till  he  has  visited  it, 
*  I  must  also  see  Rome.'  When  a  little  later  he 
writes  to  the  Romans,  the  name  of  Rome  is 
a  name  both  of  attraction  and  of  awe.  He 
is  eager  to  go  to  Rome,  but  he  seems  to  fear 
it  at  the  same  time.  So  much  as  in  him  lies,  he 
is  ready  to  preach  the  gospel  to  them  also  that 
are  at  Rome.  Even  in  face  of  all  that  that 
imperial  name  means,  he  is  not  ashamed  of  the 
Gospel  ^. 

Later  the  divine  vision  at  Jerusalem  assures 
him  that,  as  he  has  borne  witness  concerning 
Christ  at  Jerusalem,  so  he  must  bear  witness 
also  at  Rome  *.  The  confidence  of  this  divine 
purpose  mingles  with  and  reinforces  the  confi- 
dence of  the  Roman  citizen  in  his  appeal  to 
Caesar.  The  sense  of  the  divine  hand  upon 
him  to  take  him  to  Rome  is  strengthened  by 
another  vision  amid  the  terrors  of  the  sea 
voyage  ^.     At  his  first  contact  with  the  Roman 

*  Cf.  Hort,  Christian  Ecdcsia,  p.  143.  ^  Acts  xix.  21. 

'  Rom.  i.  15,  16.  *  Acts  xxiii.  11.  '  Acts  xxvii.  24. 


32         The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

brethren  'he  thanked  God  and  took  courage^.* 
This  sense  of  thankfulness  and  encouragement 
pervades  the  whole  of  the  first  captivity  so  far 
as  it  is  represented  in  his  letters.  He  had 
reached  the  goal  of  his  labours  and  a  fresh 
starting-point  for  a  wide-spreading  activity. 

Certainly  no  one  can  mistake  the  glow  of 
enthusiasm  which  pervades  the  epistles  of  the 
first  captivity  generally,  but  especially  the  Epistle 
to  the  Ephesians.  It  is  conspicuously,  and 
beyond  all  the  other  epistles,  rapturous  and 
uplifted.  And  this  is  not  due — as  is  the  cheer- 
ful thankfulness  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians, 
at  least  in  part — to  the  specially  intimate  rela- 
tions of  St.  Paul  to  the  congregations  he  was 
addressing,  or  to  the  specially  satisfactory  char- 
acter of  their  Christian  life.  On  the  contrary, 
St.  Paul  perceived  that  the  Asiatic  churches, 
and  especially  Ephesus,  were  threatened  by 
very  ominous  perils.  'Very  grievous  woK'es 
were  entering  in,  not  sparing  the  flock;  and 
among  themselves  men  were  arising,  speaking 
perverse  things,  to  draw  away  the  disciples  after 
them  ^'  St.  Paul's  rapturous  tone  must  be 
accounted  for  by  causes  independent  of  the 
Ephesian  or  Asiatic   Christians    in    particular. 

*  Acts  xxviii.  15.  "^  Acts  xx.  29,  30. 


Introduction  33 


Among  these  causes,  as  we  have  just  seen,  must 
be  reckoned  the  fact,  the  significance  of  which  we 
have  been  dwelling  upon,  that  St.  Paul  had  now 
reached  Rome,  the  centre  of  the  Gentile  world. 
But  it  must  also  be  remembered  that  St.  Paul 
had  seen  a  great  conflict  fought  out  and  won  for 
the  catholicity  of  Christianity,  and  that  now 
for  the  first  time  there  was  a  pause  and  freedom 
to  take  advantage  of  it. 

A  great  conflict  had  been  fought  and  won. 
The  backbone  of  the  earlier  Jewish  opposition  to 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel  to  the  Gentiles  on 
equal  terms  had  been  broken.  They  had  in  fact 
swept  into  the  Church  in  increasing  numbers. 
Their  rights  were  recognized  and  their  position 
uncontested.  There  is  now,  in  the  comparative 
quiet  of  the  '  hired  house  '  where  St.  Paul  was 
confined,  a  period  of  pause  in  which  he  can  fitly 
sum  up  the  results  which  have  been  won,  and 
let  the  full  meaning  of  the  cathoHc  brotherhood 
be  freely  unfolded.  It  is  time  to  pass  from  the 
rudiments  of  the  Christian  gospel,  the  vindica- 
tion of  its  most  elementary  principles  and 
liberties,  the  '  milk  for  babes,'  to  expound  the 
spiritual  wisdom  of  the  full-grown  Christian 
manhood,  the  '  solid  meat  for  them  of  riper 
years.' 

D 


34         The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

It  is  this  sense  of  pause  in  conflict  and  free 
expansion  in  view  of  a  vast  opportunity,  which 
in  great  part  at  least  interprets  the  glow  and 
glory  of  St.  Paul's  epistle. 

iv. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  might,  so  far  as 
its  contents  are  concerned,  have  been  addressed 
to  any  of  the  predominantly  Gentile  churches ; 
but  to  none  more  fitly  than  to  Ephesus  and  to 
the  churches  of  Asia,  where  the  progress  of 
Gentile  Christianity  had  been  so  rapid,  and 
where  St.  Paul's  ministry  had  been  so  unusually 
prolonged.  Let  us  attempt  to  answer  the  ques- 
tions— what  was  Ephesus  ?  what  was  the  history, 
and  what  were  the  circumstances  of  the  Ephesian 
church  ? 

Ephesus  had  a  double  importance  as  a  Greek 
and  as  an  Asiatic  city.  A  colony  of  lonians 
from  Athens  had  early  settled  on  some  hills 
which  rose  out  of  a  fertile  plain  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Cayster.  This  was  the  origin  of  the 
Greek  city  of  Ephesus.  Its  position  gave  it 
admirable  commercial  advantages.  It  became 
the  greatest  mart  of  exchange  ^  between   East 

*  Among  other  articles  of  commerce,  tents  made  in  Ephesus  had 
a  special  reputation,  and  St.  Paul  and  Aquila  had  special  oppor- 
tunities there  for  the  exercise  of  their  trade.     Acts  xx.  34. 


Introduction  35 


and  West  in  Asia  Minor,  and  though  its  com- 
merce was  threatened  by  the  fiUing  up  of 
its  harbour,  it  had  not  decayed  in  St.  Paul's 
time. 

Among  Greek  cities  it  also  occupied  a  not 
inconspicuous  place  in  the  history  of  art,  and  at 
an  earlier  period  of  philosophy  also.  Here  was 
one  of  the  chief  homes  of  the  Homeric  tradition ; 
hence  in  the  person  of  Callinus  the  Greek  elegy 
is  reputed  to  have  had  its  origin,  and  in  the 
person  of  Hipponax  the  satire.  It  was  the 
home  of  Heracleitus,  one  of  the  greatest  of 
the  early  philosophers,  and  of  Apelles  and  Par- 
rhasius,  the  masters  of  painting  ^ 

And  the  greatest  artists  in  sculpture — Phidias 
and  Polycletus,  Scopas  and  Praxiteles— had 
adorned  with  their  works  the  temple  of  Artemis, 
which,  in  itself  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world, 
the  masterpiece  of  Ionic  architecture,  became 
also,  like  some  great  Christian  cathedral,  a  very 
museum  of  sculpture  and  painting. 

If  Greek  artists  built  and  decorated  the  temple 
of  Artemis,  they  attempted  no  doubt  to  represent 
the  goddess  under  the  form  which  her  Greek 
name  suggested,  the  beautiful  huntress-goddess; 
but  the  Greeks  never  in  fact  succeeded  in  affect- 

'  Strabo,  xiv.  i,  25. 
D  2 


36        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

ing  the  thoroughly  Asiatic  and  oriental  character 
of  a  worship  which  had  nothing  Greek  about  it 
except  the  name.  The  interest  of  Ephesus  as 
an  Asiatic  city  centred  about  that  ancient  wor- 
ship which  had  its  home  in  the  plain  below  the 
Greek  settlement.  It  was  there  before  the 
Greeks  came,  it  held  its  own  throughout  and 
in  spite  of  all  Greek  and  Roman  influences ;  all 
through  the  history  of  Ephesus  it  gave  its  main 
character  to  the  city — the  noted  home  of  super- 
stition and  sorcery. 

The  Artemis  of  Ephesus  was,  as  Jerome 
remarks^,  not  the  huntress-goddess  with  her 
bow,  but  the  many»breasted  symbol  of  the  pro- 
ductive and  nutritive  powers  of  nature,  the 
mother  of  all  hfe,  free  and  untamed  hke  the  wild 
beasts  who  accompanied  her.  The  grotesque 
and  archaic  idol  believed  to  have  fallen  down 
from  heaven  was  a  stiff,  erect  mummy  covered 
with  many  breasts  and  symbols  of  wild  beasts. 
Her  worship  was  organized  by  a  hierarchy  of 
eunuch  priests  —  called  by  a  Persian  name 
Megabyzi — and  'consecrated'  virgins.  It  was 
associated,  hke  other  worships  of  the  same 
divinity  called  indifferently  Artemis  or  Cybele 
or  Ma,  with  ideals  of  life  which  from  the  point 

^  Migne,  P.  L.  xxvi.  441. 


Introduction  37 


of  view  of  any  fixed  moral  order,  Roman  or 
Greek  no  less  than  Jewish  or  Christian,  was 
lawless  and  immoral. 

It  is  very  well  known  how  the  Asiatic  nature- 
worships  flooded  the  Roman  empire,  and  even 
at  Rome  itself  became  by  far  more  popular 
than  the  traditional  state  religion.  And  among 
these  Asiatic  worships  none  was  more  popular 
than  the  worship  of  Artemis  of  Ephesus,  whose 
temple  was  the  wonder  of  the  world,  and  who 
not  only  was  worshipped  pubhcly  at  Ephesus, 
but  was  the  object  of  a  cult  both  pubHc  and 
private  in  widely-separated  parts  of  the  empire. 
Such  a  temple  and  such  a  worship  would 
naturally  collect  a  base  and  corrupt  population  ; 
but  what  would  in  any  case  have  been  bad  was 
rendered  worse  by  the  fact  that  the  area  round 
the  temple  was  an  asylum  of  refuge  from  the 
law,  and  that,  as  the  area  of  *  sanctuary '  was 
extended  at  different  times,  the  collection  of 
criminals  became  greater  and  greater.  It  had 
reached  a  point  where  it  threatened  the  safety 
of  the  city,  and  not  long  before  St.  Paul's  time 
the  Emperor  Augustus  had  found  it  necessary  to 
curtail  the  area.  The  history  of  our  own  West- 
minster is  enough  to  assure  us  that  a  religious 
asylum  brings  social  degradation  in  its  train. 


38         The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

Such  was  the  commercial  and  rehgious  im- 
portance of  the  beautiful,  wealthy,  effeminate, 
superstitious,  and  most  immoral  city  which 
became  for  three  years  the  centre  of  St.  PauFs 
ministry.  On  his  second  missionary  journey 
St.  Paul  was  making  his  way  to  Asia,  and  no 
doubt  to  Ephesus,  when  he  with  his  companions 
were  hindered  by  the  Holy  Ghost  and  turned 
across  the  Hellespont  to  Macedonia^.  On  his 
return  to  Syria,  he  could  not  be  satisfied 
without  at  least  setting  foot  in  Ephesus  and 
making  a  beginning  of  preaching  there  in  the 
synagogue  ^ ;  but  he  was  hastening  back  to 
Jerusalem,  and,  with  a  promise  of  return,  left  his 
work  there  to  Priscilla  andAquila.  On  his  third 
missionary  journey  Ephesus  was  the  centre  of 
his  prolonged  work.  It  was  accordingly  the 
only  city  of  the  first  rank  which,  so  far  as  any 
trustworthy  evidence  goes,  had  as  the  founder  of 
its  Church  in  the  strictest  sense— that  is,  as  the 
first  gatherer  of  converts  as  well  as  organizer  of 
institutions— either  St.  Paul  or  any  other  apostle  ^. 

St.  Paul's  first  activity  on  arriving  at  Ephesus 
illustrates  the  stress  he  laid  on  the  gift  of  the 
Holy   Ghost  as    the    central    characteristic    of 

*  Acts  xvi.  6-10.  ^  Acts  xviii.  19. 

2  Hort,  Prolegomena,  p.  83. 


Introduction  39 


Christianity.  He  was  brought  in  contact  with 
the  twelve  imperfect  disciples  who  had  been 
baptized  only  with  John  the  Baptist's  baptism, 
and  had  not  so  much  as  heard  whether  the 
Holy  Ghost  was  given.  St.  Paul  baptized  them 
anew  with  Christian  baptism,  and  bestowed  upon 
them  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  by  the  laying 
on  of  his  hands  ^  Then  it  is  recorded  how  he 
began  his  preaching  as  usual  with  the  Jews  in 
the  synagogue.  The  Jews  of  Asia  Minor  were 
regarded  by  the  Jews  of  Jerusalem  as  corrupted 
and  Hellenized^.  But  at  any  rate  they  exhi- 
bited the  same  antagonism  to  the  preaching  of 
Christianity  as  their  stricter  brethren.  Thus 
St.  Paul,  when  he  had  given  them  their  chance, 
abandoned  their  synagogue  and  established  him- 
self in  the  lecture-room  of  Tyrannus,  where  he 
taught  for  two  years  and  more^.  And  this 
became  the  centre  of  an  evangelization  which, 
even  if  St.  Paul  himself  did  not  visit  other 
Asiatic  towns,  yet  spread  by  the  agency  of  his 
companions  over  the  whole  of  the  Roman  pro- 

^  Acts  xix.  1-7.  '  Ramsay,  /.  c.  p.  143. 

3  '  From  the  fifth  to  the  tenth  hour'  (11  a.m.  to  4  p.m.),  an  early 
addition  to  the  text  of  the  Acts  tells  us;  i.  e.  after  work  hours, 
when  the  school  would  raturally  be  vacant  and  St.  Paul  would 
have  finished  his  manual  labour  at  tent-making.  Ramsay,  /.  c. 
p.  276. 


40         The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

vince  of  Asia— to  the  churches  of  the  Lycus, 
Colossae,  Laodicea,  Hierapohs,  and  probably 
to  the  rest  of  the  'seven  churches'  to  which 
St.  John  wrote  in  his  Apocalypse. 

Ephesus  was  full  of  superstitions  of  all  sorts 
as  would  be  expected,  and  St.  Paul's  miracles 
were  such  as  w^ould  not  unnaturally  have  led 
the  magicians  to  regard  him  as  a  greater  master 
in  their  own  craft.  So  among  others  the  Jewish 
chief  priest  Sceva's  seven  sons  began  to  use  the 
central  name  of  Paul's  preaching  as  a  new  and 
most  efficient  formula  for  exorcism.  *  We  adjure 
thee  by  Jesus  whom  Paul  preaches.'  But  it  is 
frequently  noticeable  that  St.  Paul  refused  to 
allow  himself  to  use  superstition  as  a  handmaid 
of  religion.  The  providential  disaster  which 
befell  these  exorcists  gave  St.  Paul  an  oppor- 
tunity of  striking  an  effective  blow  where  it  was 
most  needed  against  exorcism  and  magic.  The 
Christian  converts  came  and  confessed  their  par- 
ticipation in  the  black  arts,  and  burnt  their 
books  of  incantations,  in  spite  of  their  value. 
\  The  whole  transaction  must  have  impressed 
I  vividly  in  the  minds  of  the  Ephesians  the  con- 
trast between  Christianity  and  superstition. 

St.  Paul  had  alread}^  encountered  opposition 
as  well  as  success  at  Ephesus,  for  when,  writing 


Introduction  41 


from  Ephesus,  he  speaks  to  the  Corinthians  ^  of 
having  '  fought  with  beasts '  there,  the  reference 
is  probably  to  what  had  befallen  him  in  the 
earlier  part  of  his  residence  through  the  plots  of 
the  Jews ;  that  long  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians 
can  hardly  have  been  written  after  the  famous 
tumult  recorded  in  the  Acts.  But  that  tumult, 
raised  by  the  manufacturers  of  the  silver 
shrines  of  Artemis,  was  of  course  the  most 
important  persecution  which  befell  St.  Paul  at 
Ephesus.  The  narrative  of  it^  is  exceedingly 
instructive.  We  notice  the  friendliness  of  the 
Asiarchs,  i.  e.  the  presidents  of  the  provincial 
'  union '  and  priests  of  the  imiperial  worship,  and 
the  opinion  of  the  town  clerk,  that  St.  Paul 
must  be  acquitted  of  any  insults  to  the  religious 
beliefs  of  the  Ephesians^  Christianity  had 
not,  it  appears,  yet  excited  the  antipathy  of  the 
religious  or  civil  authorities  of  the  Empire,  but 
it  had  begun  to  threaten  the  pockets  of  those 
who  were  concerned  in  supplying  the  needs  of 
the  worshippers   who   thronged    to    the    great 

*  I  Cor.  XV.  3a.  ^  Acts  xix.  Q3  ff. 

3  Prof.  Ramsay  asserts  that  instead  of  '  robbers  of  temples ' 
(Acts  xix.  37),  we  should  translate  'disloyal  to  the  established 
government.'  /.  c.  p.  282.  But  the  word  is  used  in  the  former 
sense  in  special  connexion  with  Ephesus  by  Strabo,  xiv.  i,  aa, 
and  Pseudo-Heracleitus,  Ep.  7,  p.  64  (Bernays). 


42         The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

temple  at  Ephesus.  We  need  not  inquire 
exactly  how  the  little  silver  shrines  of  Artemis 
were  used ;  but  they  were  much  sought  after, 
and  their  production  gave  occupation  to  an 
important  trade.  The  trade  was  threatened  by 
the  spread  of  Christianity.  The  philosophers 
despised  indeed  the  idolatrous  rites,  but  they 
despised  also  the  people  who  practised  them, 
and  had  no  hope  or  idea  of  converting  them  '. 
St.  Paul  was  the  first  teacher  at  Ephesus. who 
touched  the  fears  of  the  idol  makers  by  bring- 
ing a  pure  religion  to  the  hearts  of  the  ordinary 
people.  Hence  the  tumult  against  the  teachers 
of  the  new  religion,  raised  not  by  the  civil  or 
religious  authorities  of  Ephesus,  but  simply  by 
the  trade  interest. 

As  soon  as  it  was  over  St.  Paul  left  Ephesus 
not  to  return  there  again.  But  on  his  way 
back  to  Jerusalem  he  came  not  to  Ephesus  but 
to  Miletus,  and  sending  for  the  Ephesian  pres- 
byters thither,  he  made  them  a  farewell  speech  ^, 
which  is  in  conspicuous  harmony  with  the 
features  of  his  later  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians. 
Already  the  doctrines  of  a  divine  purpose  or 

^  See  app.  note  B,  p.  253,   on  the  contemporary   '  letters   of 
Heracleitus.' 
2  Acts  XX.  17  ft". 


Introduction  43 


counsel  now  revealed,  of  the  Church  in  general 
as  the  object  of  the  divine  self-sacrifice  and  love, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost  as  accomplishing  her 
sanctifi cation  and  developing  her  structure,  ap- 
pear to  be  prominent  in  his  mind,  and  to  have 
become  familiar  topics  with  the  Ephesian  Chris- 
tians. *  I  shrank  not  from  declaring  unto  you 
the  whole  counsel  of  God.  Take  heed  unto 
yourselves  and  to  all  the  flock,  in  the  which  the 
Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you  bishops,  to  feed  the 
church  of  God,  which  he  purchased  with  his 
own  blood.  .  .  .  And  now  I  commend  you  to 
God,  and  to  the  word  of  his  grace,  which  is 
able  to  build  you  up,  and  to  give  you  the  inherit- 
ance among  all  them  that  are  sanctified.'  These 
words  from  St.  PauFs  speech  to  the  Ephesiar 
presbyters  are  in  remarkable  affinity  with  the 
teaching  of  our  epistle. 


We  have  been  assuming  that  this  epistle  was 
addressed  to  Ephesus,  but  there  are  reasons  to 
believe  that  it  was  not  addressed  to  Ephesus 
only,  but  rather  generally  to  the  churches  of  the 
Roman  province  of  Asia,  of  which  Ephesus  was 
the  chief.     The  reasons  for  thinking  this  are 


44         The  Epistle  to  the  Ephestans 

partly  internal  to  the  epistle.  St.  Paul's  per- 
sonal relations  to  individual  Ephesian  Christians 
must  have  been  many  and  close,  and  we  know 
his  habit  of  introducing  personal  allusions  and 
greetings  into  his  epistles;  but  the  so-called 
Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  is  destitute  of  them 
altogether,  contrasting  in  this  respect  even  with 
the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians,  written  at  the  same 
time  to  a  church  which  St.  Paul  himself  never 
visited.  This  would  be  a  most  inexplicable  fact 
if  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  were  really  a  letter 
to  this  one  particular  church.  More  than  this, 
St.  Paul  speaks  in  several  passages  in  a  way 
which  impHes  that  he  and  those  he  wrote  to  were 
dependent  on  what  they  had  heard  for  mutual 
knowledge— 'having  heard  of  the  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  that  is  among  you' — 'if  so  be  ye 
have  heard  of  the  dispensation  of  the  grace  of 
God  which  was  given  me  to  3^ouward.'  Such 
language  is  much  more  natural  if  he  is  writing 
to  others  besides  the  Ephesians.  And  this 
evidence  internal  to  the  substance  of  the  epistle 
coincides  with  evidence  of  the  manuscripts. 
Very  early  manuscripts,  some  of  those  which 
remain  to  us  and  some  which  are  reported  to  us  by 
primitive  scholars,  omit  the  words  '  in  Ephesus ' 
from  St.  Paul's  opening  greeting  '  To  the  saints 


Introduction  45 


and  faithful  brethren  which  are  [in  Ephesus].* 
This  fact,  coupled  with  the  absence  of  personal 
reminiscences  in  the  epistle,  has  suggested  the 
idea  that  it  was  in  fact  a  circular  letter  to  the 
saints  and  faithful  brethren  at  a  number  of 
churches  of  the  Roman  province  of  Asia,  and 
that  where  the  words  'in  Ephesus'  stand  in 
our  text,  there  was  perhaps  a  blank  left  in  the 
epistle  as  St.  Paul  dictated  it,  which  was  intended 
to  be  filled  up  in  each  church  where  it  was  read. 
This  is  a  view  which  has  to  a  certain  extent 
a  special  interest  for  us  in  Westminster  because, 
if  it  was  first  suggested  by  the  Genevan  com- 
mentator Beza,  it  was  elaborated  by  Archbishop 
Ussher,  who  is  identified  with  our  Abbey  by 
residence  and  by  the  memorable  record  of  his 
entombment  in  our  abbey  church  with  Anglican 
rites  by  the  command  of  Cromwell.  It  follows 
naturally  from  such  a  view  that  when  St.  Paul 
writes  to  the  Colossians  and  bids  them  send 
their  letter  to  Laodicea,  and  read  that  which 
comes  from  Laodicea  ^,  the  letter  which  they 
should  expect  from  Laodicea  would  be  none 
other  than  the  so-called  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 
which  was  to  be  read  by  them  as  well  as  the 
other  Asiatic  Christians. 

'  Col.  iv.  16. 


46         The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 


VI. 

Enough  perhaps  has  now  been  said  to  give 
a  general  idea  of  the  conditions  under  which 
this  great  epistle  was  written ;  and  the  topics  of 
the  epistle  have  been  already  indicated.  Its 
central  theme  is  that  of  the  great  catholic 
society,  the  renovated  Israel,  the  Church  of 
God.  In  this  catholic  brotherhood  St.  Paul 
sees  the  realization  of  an  age-long  purpose  of 
God,  the  fulfilment  of  a  long-secret  counsel,  now 
at  last  disclosed  to  His  chosen  prophets.  He 
sees  nothing  incongruous  in  finding  in  the  yet 
young  and  limited  societies  of  Christian  disciples 
the  consummation  of  the  divine  purpose  for  the 
world,  for  these  societies  represent  the  breaking 
down  of  all  barriers  and  the  bringing  of  all  men 
to  unity  with  one  another  through  a  recovered 
unity  with  God,  through  Christ  and  in  His 
vSpirit.  Therefore  the  work  which  the  Church 
is  to  accomphsh  is  nothing  less  than  a  universal 
work,  a  work  not  even  hmited  to  humanity ;  it 
is  the  bringing  back  of  all  things  visible  or 
invisible  into  that  unity  which  lies  in  God's 
original  purpose  of  creation.  St.  Paul  long  ago 
had  spoken  to  the  Corinthians  of  a  spiritual 
wisdom  which  they  were  not  yet  ready  to  hsten 


hitrodiiction  47 


to.     But  now  St.  Paul  seems  to  feel— for  reasons 
which  we  have  tried  in  part  to  interpret — that 
the  time  has  come  when  all  the  depth  and  rich- 
ness of  the  divine  secret  may  be  spoken  out. 
No  wonder  that  the  subject  stirs  his  imagination 
and  gives   to   his  whole  tone  an  uplifting  and 
a  glory  without  parallel  in   his  other  writings. 
And  yet  it  would  be  altogether  false  to  attach  to 
this  epistle  any  associations  such   as  are  com- 
monly connected  with  flights  of  imagination  or 
the  language  of  rhapsody.     For  the  epistle  has 
the  most  direct  bearing  on  matters  of  practical 
life.     If  St.  Paul  glorifies  the  Christian  ideal  it  is 
in  order  that  all  that  weight  of  glory  may  be 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  Asiatic  Christians  to 
force  them  to  see  that  their  personal  and  social 
conduct  must  have  a  purity,  a  liberality,  a  wis- 
dom, a  love,  a  power,  commensurate  with  the 
greatness   of  those   motives  which   are    acting 
upon  them  in  their  new  Christian  state. 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  EPHESIANS 

Chapter  I.  1-2. 

Salutation. 

St.  Paul  begins  this,  in  common  with  his 
other  epistles,  with  a  brief  salutation  to  a  parti- 
cular church  or  group  of  churches,  in  which  is 
expressed  in  summary  the  authority  he  has  for 
writing  to  them,  the  light  in  which  he  regards 
them,  and  the  central  wish  for  them  which  he 
has  in  his  heart. 

Paul,  an  apostle  of  Christ  Jesus  through  the  will  of 
God,  to  the  saints  which  are  at  Ephesus,  and  the  faithful 
in  Christ  Jesus  :  Grace  to  you  and  peace  from  God  our 
Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Here,  then,  we  have  three  compressed  thoughts. 
I.  The  particular  person  Paul  writes  this 
letter  because  he  is  not  only  a  believer  in  Christ 
but  also  an  'apostle  of  Christ  Jesus  through  the 
will  of  God.*  The  word  apostle  is  a  more  or  less 
general  word  for  a  delegate,  as  when  St.  Paul 


Salutation  49 


speaks  of  the  '  apostles  (or  messengers)  of  the 
churches  ^ ; '  but  by  an  apostle  in  its  highest 
sense,  '  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,'  St.  Paul 
meant  one  of  those,  originally  twelve  in  number, 
who  had  received  personally  from  the  risen 
Christ  a  particular  commission  to  represent  Him 
to  the  world.  This  particular  and  personal 
commission  he  claimed  to  have  received,  in 
common  with  the  twelve,  though  later  than  they 
— at  the  time  of  his  conversion.  '  Am  I  not  an 
apostle?'  he  cries.  'Have  I  not  seen  Jesus 
our  Lord  ^  ? '  *  He  appeared  to  me  also  as  unto 
one  born  out  of  due  time  ^'  '  In  nothing  was 
I  behind  the  very  chiefest  apostles  ^.'  And  as 
his  claim  to  the  apostolate  was  challenged  by  his 
Judaizing  opponents  he  had  to  insist  upon  it,  to 
insist  that  it  is  not  a  commission  from  or  through 
Peter  and  the  other  apostles,  or  dependent 
upon  them  for  its  exercise,  but  a  direct  com- 
mission, like  theirs,  from  the  Head  of  the  Church 
Himself.  He  is,  he  writes  to  the  Galatians, 
*  Paul,  an  apostle,  not  from  men,  nor  (like  those 
subsequently  ordained  by  himself  or  the  other 
apostles,  like  a  Timothy,  or  a  Titus,  or  like  the 
later  clergy)  through  man,'  but  directly  through, 

*  2  Cor.  viii.  23.  ^  i  Cor.  ix.  i.  ^  i  Cor.  xv.  8. 

*  a  Cor.  xii.  11. 

E 


50        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

as  well  as  from,  the  risen  Jesus  whom  his  eyes 
had  seen,  and  His  eternal  Father  \ 

It  is  surely  a  consolation  to  us  of  the  Church 
of  England,  who  belong  to  a  church  subject 
to  constant  attack  on  the  score  of  apostolic 
character,  to  remember  that  St.  Paul's  apostolate 
was  attacked  with  some  excuse,  and  that  he  had 
to  spend  a  great  deal  of  effort  in  vindicating  it, 
and  was  in  no  way  ashamed  of  doing  so,  because 
he  perceived  that  a  certain  aspect  of  the  life  and 
truth  of  the  Church  was  bound  up  with  its 
recognition. 

2.  And  he  writes  to  the  Asiatic  Christians  as 
*  saints'  and  'faithful  in  Christ  Jesus.'  'Saint* 
does  not  mean  primarily  what  we  understand  by 
it — one  pre-eminent  in  moral  excellence ;  but 
rather  one  consecrated  or  dedicated  to  the  ser- 
vice and  use  of  God.  The  idea  of  consecration 
was  common  in  all  religions,  and  frequently,  as 
in  the  Asiatic  worships  at  Ephesus  and  else- 
where, carried  with  it  associations  quite  the 
opposite  of  those  which  we  assign  to  hohness. 
But  the  special  characteristic  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment rehgion  had  been  the  righteous  and  holy 
character  which  it  ascribed  to  Jehovah.  Con- 
secration to  Him,  therefore,  is  seen  to  require 

'  Gal.  i.  I. 


Salutation  51 


personal  holiness,  and  this  requirement  is  only 
deepened  in  meaning  under  the  Gospel.  But  still 
*  the  saints '  means  primarily  the  '  consecrated 
ones ' ;  and  all  Christians  are  therefore  saints — 
'called  as  saint  '  rather  than  'called  to  be 
saints/  in  virtue  of  their  belonging  to  the  con- 
secrated body  into  which  they  were  baptized; 
saints  who  because  of  their  consecration  are 
therefore  bound  to  live  holily  \  *  The  saints ' 
in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  ^  is  simply  a  synonym 
for  the  Church.  St.  Paul  then  writes  to  the 
Asiatic  Christians  as  '  consecrated '  and  *  faithful 
in  Christ  Jesus,'  i.  e.  believing  members  incor- 
porated by  baptism ;  and  he  writes  to  them  for 
no  other  purpose  than  to  make  them  understand 
what  is  imphed  in  their  common  consecration 
and  common  faith. 

3.  And  his  good  wishes  for  them  he  sums  up 
in  the  terms  '  Grace  and  peace  in  God  our 
Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.'  Grace  is 
that  free  and  unmerited  favour  or  good-will  of 
God  towards  man  which  takes  shape  in  a  con- 
tinuous  outflow  of  the  very  riches  of  God "s 

^  Tertullian,  de  An.  39,  rightly  interprets  i  Cor.  vii.  14,  'now 
are  they  [the  children  of  whose  parents  one  was  a  Christian] 
holy,'  as  meaning,  now  are  they  already  consecrated  and  marked 
out  for  baptismal  sanctification  by  the  prerogative  of  their  birth. 

^  Acts  ix.  13,  32. 

£  2 


52        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephestans 

inmost  being  and  spirit  into  the  life  of  man 
through  Christ ;  and  peace  of  heart,  Godward 
and  manward,  '  central  peace  subsisting  at  the 
heart  of  endless  agitation  '  is  that  by  the  posses- 
sion and  bestowal  of  which  Christianity  best 
gives  assurance  of  its  divine  origin. 

We  notice  that  these  divine  gifts  are  ascribed 
to  *  God  our  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ/ 
St.  Paul  does  not  generally  call  Christ  by  the 
title  God,  partly,  no  doubt,  from  long  engrained 
habit  of  language,  but  partly  also  because  nothing 
was  more  important  than  that  no  language 
should  be  used  in  the  first  propagation  of 
Christianity  which  could  give  excuse  for  con- 
fusing the  Christian  belief  in  the  threefold 
Name  with  the  worship  of  many  gods.  But, 
from  the  first,  Christ,  in  St.  Paul's  language,  is 
exalted  as  Lord  into  a  simply  divine  supremacy, 
and  associated  most  intimately  with  all  the  most 
exclusively  divine  operations  in  the  world  with- 
out, and  in  the  heart  of  man  within.  Moreover, 
St.  Paul  refuses  absolutely  to  tolerate  any  asso- 
ciation of  other,  however  exalted,  beings  with 
Christ  in  lordship  or  mediatorship,  all  created 
beings  whatever  being  simply  the  work  of  His 
hands  ^     There  remains,  therefore,  no  room  to 

*  Cf.  I  Cor.  viii.  6  ;  Col.  i,  i6. 


Sahitation  53 


question  that  St.  Paul  believed  Christ  to  be 
strictly  divine :  to  be  Himself  no  creature,  no 
highest  archangel,  but  one  who,  with  the  Holy 
Spirit  alone,  is  truly  proper  and  essential  to  the 
divine  being  ;  and  it  affords  us,  therefore,  no 
manner  of  surprise  that  from  time  to  time 
St.  Paul  actually  calls  Christ  God,  as  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans  '  who  is  over  all,  God 
blessed  for  ever\*  and  probably  in  the  Epistle 
to  Titus  'our  great  God  and  saviour  Jesus 
Christ  ^* 

^  Rom.  ix.  5.  2  Tit.  ii,  13. 


54        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 


DIVISION  I.     Chapters  I.  3  — IV.  17. 

§  I.    Chapter  i.  3-14. 

St.  Paul's  leading  thoughts. 

Before  we  read  the  opening  paragraph  of 
St.  Paul's  letter  we  had  better  review  the  great 
thoughts  which  are  prominent  in  his  mind  as  he 
writes.  My  ambition  is  to  make  my  readers 
feel  that  ideas  which,  because  they  have  become 
Christian  commonplaces  or  because  they  have 
been  blackened  by  controversy,  have  by  this  time 
a  ring  of  unreality  about  them,  or  of  theological 
remoteness,  or  of  controversial  bitterness,  are  in 
fact,  if  we  will  '  consider  them  anew,'  ideas  the 
most  important,  the  most  practical,  and  the  most 
closely  adapted  to  the  moral  needs  of  the  plain 
man. 

St.  Paul  writes  to  the  Christians  as '  in  Christ/ 
'  in  the  beloved,' '  blessed  with  all  spiritual  bene- 
diction in  the  heavenly  places  in  Christ,' '  adopted 


St.  PatiPs  leading  thoughts         55 

as  sons  through  Jesus  Christ.'  We  are  all  of  us 
perfectly  famihar  with  the  idea  of  Christ  as,  so 
to  speak,  a  personal  and  individual  redeemer, 
as  the  holy  and  righteous  one,  the  beloved  and 
accepted  Son,  who  is  risen  from  the  dead  and 
exalted  to  supreme  sovereignty  in  heaven.  But 
popular  theology  has  not  been  quite  so  familiar 
with  the  idea  that  Christ  was  and  is  all  this  in 
our  manhood,  not  simply  because  He  was  God  I 
as  well  as  man  (true  as  this  is);  but  because  as 
man  He  was  anointed  with  the  Holy  Spirit  of 
God  :  that  it  was  in  the  power  of  that  Spirit 
that  He  lived  His  life  of  holiness  and  wrought 
His  miracles  of  power:  that  it  was  in  the  power 
of  that  Spirit  that  He  taught  and  suffered  and 
died  and  was  glorified.  Nor  has  popular 
Christianity  been  familiar  with  the  resulting 
truth  :  that  by  that  divine  Spirit  which  possessed 
Him  as  man,  the  life  of  Christ  is  extended 
beyond  Himself  to  take  in  those  who  believe  in 
Him,  and  make  them  members  of  'the  church 
which  is  his  body.'  Yet,  in  fact,  this  extension 
is  implied  even  in  the  name  Christ.  The  king 
Messiah,  the  Christ  of  the  Old  Testament,  is 
but  the  central  figure  of  a  whole  kingdom 
associated  with  Him,  and  all  the  characteristic 
phrases  for  Christ  in  the  New  Testament  ex- 


56        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

press  the  same  idea.  He  is  the  '  first-born  among 
many  brethren^';  He  is  the  'first  fi*uits '^ '  of 
a  great  harvest ;  He  is  the  *  head  of  the  body^'; 
He  is  the  'bridegroom'  inseparable  from  'the 
bride  ^';  He  is  the  second  Adam,  that  is,  head  of 
a  new  humanity  ^.  Thus  if  the  heavens  closed 
around  the  ascending  Christ,  and  hid  Him  from 
view,  the}^  opened  again  around  the  descending 
Spirit,  descending  into  the  heart  of  the  Christian 
society  to  perpetuate  Christ's  life  and  presence 
there.  This  historical  ascent  and  descent  only 
embody  in  unmistakable  facts  the  truth  that  the 
life-giving  Spirit,  who  made  the  manhood  of 
Christ  so  satisfying  to  our  moral  aspirations, 
is  also  and  with  the  same  reality,  though  not 
with  the  same  perfection  or  freedom,  living  and 
working  in  that  great  society  which  He  founded 
to  represent  Him  on  earth.  Because  this  society 
is  possessed  by  the  Spirit,  therefore  it  lives  in 
the  same  life  as  Christ,  it  and  all  its  individual 
members  are  '  in  Christ.'  In  one  place,  indeed, 
St.  Paul  includes  the  Church,  the  body,  with  its 
head  under  the  one  name  '  the  Christ  ^! 

It  is  because  the  Church  thus  shares  Christ's 


^  Rom.  viii.  29.  ^  i  Cor.  xv.  23. 

2  Eph.  iv.  15,  16.  *  Eph.  V.  32  ;  Rev.  xxi.  9. 

*  I  Cor.  XV.  45;  Rom.  v.  12-19.        ^  i  Cor.  xii.  12. 


Life  in  Christ  57 

life  that  it  is  already  spoken  of  as  sharing  His 
exaltation.  We  '  sit  together  in  the  heavenly 
places  with  Christ'  for  no  other  reason  than 
because,  though  we  are  on  earth,  our  life  is 
bound  up  invisibly  but  in  living  reality  with  the 
life  of  the  glorified  Christ,  and  we  have  in  Him 
free  access  into  the  courts  of  heaven.  For  this 
reason  again,  as  the  fulness  of  the  divine  attri- 
butes dwells  in  the  glorified  Christ — all  the 
fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily,  so  the  same 
fulness  is  attributed,  ideally  at  least,  to  the 
Church  too.  It  too  is  '  the  fulness  of  him  that 
filleth  all  in  all.'  To  St.  Paul's  mind  there  is 
one  true  human  life  in  which  men  are  one  with 
one  another  because  they  are  at  one  with  God. 
That  true  human  life  is  Christ's  life,  which  He 
once  lived  on  earth,  and  which  He  is  at  present 
living  in  the  glory  of  God,  and  which  is  fulfilled 
with  all  the  completeness  of  the  divine  life  itself. 
But  that  true  human  life  is  also  shared  by  each 
and  every  member  of  His  Church,  without 
exception,  without  reference  to  race  or  learning, 
or  wealth,  or  sex,  or  age. 

I  have  said  that  this  is  ideally  the  case.  This 
identification  of  Christ  with  the  Church,  that  is 
to  say,  is  not  yet  fully  realized.  The  Church  is 
not  yet  glorified,  not  yet  morally  perfected  nor 


58        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

full  grown  in  the  divine  attributes.  Its  particular 
members  may  be  living  deceitful  and  dishonour- 
able lives.  This  is  to  say  in  other  words  that 
God's  work  in  *  redemption  of  his  own  posses- 
sion,' His  acquirement  of  a  people  to  Himself, 
is  not  yet  complete.  The  purchase-money  is 
paid,  but  it  has  not  yet  taken  full  effect.  But 
redemption  is  an  accomplished  fact  in  the  sense 
that  all  the  conditions  of  the  final  success  are 
already  there.  The  ideal  may  be  freely  reaHzed 
in  every  Christian  because  he  has  received  the 
'  earnest '  or  pledge  of  the  Spirit,  the  pledge,  that 
is,  of  all  that  is  to  be  accomplished  in  him.  And 
this  Spirit  was  received  by  each  Christian  at 
a  particular  and  assignable  moment.  We  know 
what  stress  St.  Paul  laid  at  Ephesus  on  proper 
Christian  baptism  and  the  laying  on  of  hands 
which  followed  it^  By  baptism  men  were 
spoken  of  as  incorporated  into  Christ.  With 
the  laying  on  of  hands  was  associated  the 
bestowal  of  the  Spirit.  Henceforth  a  Christian 
had  no  need  to  ask  for  the  Spirit  as  if  He  were 
not  already  bestowed  upon  him ;  he  had  only 
to  bring  into  practical  use  spiritual  forces  and 
powers  which  the  divine  bounty  had  already 
put  at  his  disposal. 

^  Acts  xix.  1-7. 


Life  in  Christ  59 

If  we  compare  this  set  of  ideas  with  those 
that  have  been  current  in  our  popular  theology, 
we  shall  find  that  the  main  difference  Hes  in  this, 
that  here  the  stress  is  laid  on  the  work  of  Christ 
in  man  by  His  Spirit,  while  the  theology  which 
has  been  popular  among  us  has  laid  the  stress 
rather  on  the  '  vicarious '  work  of  Christ  outside 
us  and  for  us,  by  making  a  propitiation  for  our 
sins.  Now  in  fact  this  latter  doctrine  is  an 
unmistakable  part  of  St.  Paul's  teaching  in  this 
epistle  and  elsewhere.  And  all  the  mistakes 
to  which  it  has  led  are  due  to  its  not  having 
been  kept  in  proper  relation  to  the  set  of  ideas 
which  I  have  just  been  endeavouring  to  expound. 
'  Christ  for  us,'  the  sacrifice  of  propitiation  has 
been  separated  from  *  Christ  in  us,'  our  new  life ; 
whereas  really  the  sacrifice  was  but  a  necessary 
removal  of  an  obstacle,  preliminary  to  the  new 
life. 

It  was  a  necessary  preliminary  that  Christ' 
should  put  us  on  a  fresh  basis,  should  enable  us 
to  break  from  our  past  and  make  a  fresh  start  in 
the  divine  acceptance.  This  He  did  by  making 
atonement  for  our  sins,  offering  as  a  propitiatory 
sacrifice  His  Hfe,  even  to  the  shedding  of  His 
blood,  that  the  Father  might  be  enabled  to 
forgive  our  sins.    This   transaction   is   always 


6o        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

\  represented  in  the  New  Testament  as  being  the 
vTact  of  the  Father  as  well  as  of  the  Son,  for  the 
divine  persons  are  not  separable — neither  an 
act  by  which  the  Son  forces  the  unwilling  hand 
of  the  Father,  nor  an  act  in  which  the  Father 
lays  an  undeserved  burden  upon  an  unwilling 
Son— and  the  idea  of  propitiation  seems  to 
St.  Paul,  as  indeed  it  has  seemed  to  men 
generally,  a  thoroughly  natural  idea.  Only  in  one 
place  does  he  make  any  suggestion  as  to  why 
such  a  preliminary  sacrifice  of  propitiation  was 
necessary.  There  ^  he  seems  to  find  the  moral 
necessity  for  it  in  the  fact  that  through  long 
ages  God's  'forbearance'  had  left  men  to  work 
through  their  own  resources  and  so  to  find  out 
their  need  of  Him.  *  He  suffered  all  nations  to 
walk  in  their  own  ways.'  He  'winked  at'  or 
'overlooked  times  of  ignorance.'  He  'passed 
over  sins  ^'  This  was  part  of  His  educative  pro- 
cess. One  result  of  it,  however,  was  a  lowering 
of  the  moral  ideas  entertained  of  the  divine  char- 
acter. Thus  God's  righteousness,  which  means 
holiness  and  compassion  combined,  needed  to 
be  declared  especially  at  that  crisis  of  the  divine 
dealings  when   God  was  coming  out   towards 

^  Rom.  iii.  24-26.     I  have  tried  to  develope  St.  Paul's  hint. 
*  Rom.  iii.  25  ;  Acts  xiv.  16;  Acts  xvii.  30. 


Life  in  Christ  6i 

men,  whom  He  had  educated  by  His  seeming 
absence  to  feel  their  need  of  Him,  with  the  offer 
of  His  love.  The  free  bounty  of  His  mercy  must 
not  be  misunderstood  as  if  it  were  indifference 
or  laxity  about  moral  wickedness.  Thus  the 
proclamation  of  His  compassion  must  be  asso- 
ciated with  something  which  would  make  un- 
mistakable the  severity  of  His  holiness  and 
His  moral  claim.  This  twofold  end  is  what 
Christ  accomplishes.  Thus  if  He  is  the  revealer 
of  the  compassion  of  the  Father,  He  also  vindi- 
cates the  divine  character  by  a  great  act  of 
moral  reparation,  made  in  man's  name  and  on 
man's  behalf,  to  the  divine  holiness  which  our 
sins  have  ignored  and  outraged.  This  great 
act  of  reparation  is  consummated  in  the  blood- 
shedding  of  the  Christ.  The  sacrifice  of  con- 
summate obedience  is  carried  to  its  extreme 
point  and  accepted  in  its  perfection.  God  in 
Christ  receives  from  man,  and  that  publicly, 
a  perfect  reparation  :  an  acknowledgement  with- 
out fault  or  drawback  :  a  perfect  sacrifice.  Now 
God  can  forgive  the  sins  of  men  freel}^  and 
without  moral  risk,  if  they  come  to  Him  in  the 
name  of  Christ.  To  come  to  God  in  the  name  of 
Christ  means,  of  course,  to  come  in  conscious 
moral  identification  of  one's  self  with  Christ,  with 


62        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

His  Spirit  and  His  motives.  Jhe  faith  which 
simply  accepts  the  bounty  of  forgiveness 
through  Christ's  sacrifice,  must  pass  necessarily 
into  the  faith  which  corresponds  obediently  with 
the  divine  love.  Thus  the  purpose  of  the  atone- 
ment is  never  expressed  as  being  that  we  should 
be  let  off  punishment,  or  simply  that  we  should 
be  forgiven,  but  rather  that,  being  forgiven,  we 
should  be  united  to  Christ  in  His  life  ^  The 
propitiation  which  Christ  offered  is  only  the 
removal  of  a  preliminary  obstacle  to  our  fellow- 
ship with  Him  in  the  life  of  God.  The  work  of 
Christ  '  for  us '  has  no  meaning  or  efficacy  till 
it  has  begun  to  pass  into  the  work  of  Christ  *  in 
us '  by  His  assimilating  Spirit.  It  was  only  as 
baptized  into  Christ  and  sharing  His  Spirit  that 
Christians  could  accept  the  forgiveness  of  their 
sins  through  the  shedding  of  Christ's  blood. 
The  sacrament  of  new  Hfe  is  also  the  sacrament 
of  absolution,  and  the  washing  away  of  sins. 
Nothing  in  fact  can  be  plainer  in  this  Epistle  to 
the  Ephesians  than  that '  the  redemption  through 
Christ's  blood,  even  the  forgiveness  of  tres- 
passes^'   was    only  a   preliminary  removal   of 

*  The  earliest  and  simplest  expression  of  the  matter  is  that  in 
St.  Paul's  earliest  epistle  (i  Thess.  v,  lo),  Christ  '  died  for  us  .  .  . 
that  we  should  live  together  with  him.' 

^  Eph.  i.  7  ;  cf.  ii.  13  ff. 


Predestination  63 

obstacles  to  that  fellowship  with  God  in  Christ 
by  His  Spirit  which  is  the  secret  of  the  Church. 


St.  Paul's  mind  is  full  of  the  idea  of  predestina- 
tion. He  delights  to  contemplate  the  eternal 
purpose  of  God  as  lying  behind  what  seems  to 
us  the  painfully  slow  method  by  which  divine 
results  are  actually  won.  What  age-long  pro- 
cesses have  been  necessary  both  among  the 
Jews  and  among  the  Gentiles  before  this  young 
church,  this  divine  society  of  man  with  God  has 
become  possible !    What  slow  working  through 

*  times  of  ignorance/  what  infinite  delay  in  the 
divine  forbearance — as  we  should  now  say,  what 
age-long  processes  of  developement!  But  St.  Paul 
is  quite  certain  that  the  result  is  no  afterthought, 
no  accident  of  the  moment ;  but  that  from  end 
to  end  of  the  universe  there  reaches  a  methods 
of  the  divine  wisdom,  and  that  here  in  the\ 
catholic    church   it    has    arrived    at    an    issue. 

*  God  chose  us  in  Christ  before  the  foundation 
of  the  world  that  we  should  be  holy  and  without 
blemish  (as  spotless  victims)  before  him  in 
love :  having  foreordained  us  unto  adoption  as 
sons  through  Jesus  Christ  unto  himself.'    '  Fore- 


64        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

ordained  to  be  a  heritage  according  to  the 
purpose  of  him  v/ho  worketh  all  things  after 
the  counsel  of  his  will/  So  he  asseverates  and 
repeats  and  insists.  There  are,  we  may  say,  two 
ideas  commonly  associated  with  predestination 
which  St.  Paul  gives  us  no  warrant  for  asserting. 

>  The  one  is  the  predestination  of  individuals  to 
eternal  loss  or  destruction.  That  God  should 
create  any  single  individual  with  the  intention  of 
eternally  destroying  or  punishing  him  is  a  hor- 
rible idea,  and,  without  prying  into  mysteries, 
we  may  say  boldly  that  there  is  no  warrant  for 

_  it  in  the  Old  or  New  Testaments.  God  is  indeed 
represented  as  predestinating  men,  like  Jacob 
and  Esau,  to  a  higher  or  lower  place  in  the  order 
of  the  world  or  the  church.  There  are  '  vessels ' 
made  by  the  divine  potter  to  purposes  of '  honour,' 
and  *  vessels '  made  to  purposes  (comparatively) 
of  '  dishonour^ ' :  there  are  more  honourable  and 
less  honourable  limbs  of  the  body^  But  this 
does  not  prejudice  the  eternal  prospects  of  those 
who  in  this  world  hold  the  less  advantageous 
posts.  With  God  is  no  respect  of  persons. 
Again  God  is  represented  as  predestinating  men 
to  moral  hardness  of  heart  where  such  hardness 
is   a  judgement  on  previous  wilfulness.     Thus 

^  Rom.  ix.  21.  ^  I  Cor.  xii.  22  ff. 


Predestination  65 

men  may  be  predestined  to  temporary  rejection 
of  God,  as  in  St.  Paul's  mind  the  majority  of 
the  contemporary  Jews  were.  That  was  their 
judgement,  and  their  punishment  \  It  was  how- 
ever not  God's  first  intention  for  them  nor  His 
last.  Those  chapters  of  St.  Paul  ^  which  contain 
the  most  terrible  things  about  the  present  repro- 
bation of  the  Jews  contain  also  the  most  emphatic 
repudiation  of  the  idea  that  moral  reprobation 
was  God's  first  idea  for  them,  or  His  last.  '  The 
gifts  and  calling  of  God,'  that  is,  His  good  gifts 
and  caUing,  says  St.  Paul,  speaking  of  the  now 
*  reprobate'  Jews,  are  'without  repentance^.' 
God's  present  reprobation  of  them  is  only  a  pro- 
cess towards  a  fresh  opportunity.  *  God  hath 
shut  up  all  into  disobedience  that  he  might 
have  mercy  upon  alH.'  Men  may  baffle  the 
original  divine  purpose,  and  that,  so  far  as  their 
own  blessedness  is  concerned,  even  finally :  they 
may  become  finally  'reprobate':  but  the  divine 
purpose  for  them  at  its  root  remains  a  purpose  for 
good.  '  God  will  have  all  men  to  be  saved  and 
to  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  ^' 

^  Cf.  St.  Matt.  xiii.  13-15  ;  St.  John  xii.  39,  40.  We  are  not 
(Rom.  ix.  17)  told  why  Pharaoh  was  brought  out  on  the  stage 
of  history  as  an  example  of  God's  hardening  judgement.  But 
no  doubt  there  was  a  moral  reason.  ^  Rom.  ix  xi. 

'  Rom.  xi.  29.  *  Rom.  xi,  32.  *  i  Tim.  ii.  4. 

F 


66        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephestans 

y^         And  once  again,  the  idea  of  a  predestination 
C-  for  good,  taking  effect  necessarily  and  irrespective 

of  men's  co-operation,  is  an  idea  which  has  been 
intruded  unjustifiably  into  St.  Paul's  thought. 
It  exalts  his  whole  being  to  consider  that  he  is 
co-operating  with  God,  and  that  the  conditions 
under  which  he  lives  represent  a  divine  purpose 
with  which  he  is  called  to  work.  It  is  this  which 
makes  him  feel  it  is  worth  while  working :  it  is 
this  which  nerves  and  sustains  him  in  all  suf- 
ferings, and  enlarges  his  horizon  in  all  restraints  : 
but  he  never  suggests  that  it  does  not  lie  within 
the  mysterious  power  of  his  own  will  to  with- 
draw himself  from  co-operation  with  God.  It  is 
at  least  conceivable  to  him  that  he  should  himself 
be  rejected  \  In  that  famous  Hst  of  external 
forces  which  he  feels  are  unable  to  tear  him 
from  the  grasp  of  the  divine  love,  his  own  will  is 
not  included-,  nor  could  be  included  without 
gross  inconsistency. 
f-  Beyond  all  question  there  is  here  one  problem 
-  which  remains  for  all  time  unsolved  and  in- 
,     soluble — the  relation  of  divine  fore-knowledsfe^ 

^  I  Cor.  ix.  27.  ^  Rom.  viii.  38,  39. 

'  I  am  using  the  word  here  not  in  its  Bible  sense,  for  in  the 
Bible  God  is  said  to  'know'  men  in  the  sense  of  fixing  His  choice 
or  approval  upon  them  ;  and  to  '  foreknow '  is  therefore  to  approve 
or  choose  beforehand,  as  suitable  instruments  for  a  divine  purpose. 
I  am  using  the  word  in  its  ordinary  sense. 


Predestination  67 

to  human  freedom.  If  we  men  are  free  to 
choose,  how  can  it  be,  or  can  it  really  be  the 
case  at  all,  that  God  knows  beforehand  actually 
how  each  individual  will  behave  in  each  par- 
ticular case  ?  This  is  a  problem  which  we  can- 
not fathom  any  more  than  we  can  fathom  any  of 
the  problems  which  require  for  their  solution  an 
experience  of  what  an  absolute  and  eternal  con- 
sciousness can  mean.  But  the  problem  belongs 
to  metaphysics.  It  inheres  in  the  idea  of  eternity 
and  God.  The  Bible  neither  creates  it  nor  solves 
it.     We  may  say  it  does  not  touch  it. 

Certainly  when  St.  Paul  dwells  upon  the 
thought  of  divine  predestination  he  dwells  upon 
it  in  order  to  emphasize  that,  through  all  the 
vicissitudes  of  the  world's  history,  a  divine  pur- 
pose runs;  and  especially  that  God  works  out 
His  universal  purposes  through  speciallyselected 
agents  'his  elect,'  on  whom  His  choice  rests  for 
special  ends  in  accordance  with  an  eternal  design 
and  intention.  And  the  sense  of  co-operating 
with  an  eternal  purpose  of  God  inspires  and 
strengthens  him.  For  God  will  not  drop  His 
work  by  the  way.  Whom  He  did  foreknow  or 
mark  out  beforehand  for  His  divine  purposes, 
them  He  also  foreordained  or  predestinated  to 
sonship,  and  in  due  time  called  into  the  number 
F  2 


68        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephestans 

of  His  elect,  and  justified  them,  that  is,  par- 
doned their  sins  and  gave  them  a  new  standing- 
ground  in  Christ,  and  glorified  or  will  glorify 
them  by  the  gradual  operation  of  His  graced 
The  steps  or  moments  of  the  divine  action 
recognized  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  are 
practically  the  same  as  those  alluded  to  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Ephesians.  There  also  is  the 
eternal  choice,  and  the  predestination  to  sonship, 
and  at  a  particular  time  the  call  into  the  Church, 
and  the  justification  or  remission  of  sins  through 
the  blood  of  Christ,  and  the  gradual  promotion 
through  sanctification  to  glory.  And  the  moral 
fruit  of  contemplating  God's  eternal  purpose 
for  His  elect,  and  the  stages  of  His  work  upon 
them,  is  to  be  cheerful  confidence  of  a  right  sort. 
God  will  not  drop  them  by  the  way,  nor  the 
work  which  they  are  *  called '  to  accomphsh. 
'  God  who  hath  begun  a  good  work  will  perfect 
it  until  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ-.'  Wherever 
St.  Paul  recognizes  a  movement  towards  good  in 
the  single  soul  or  in  the  world,  he  knows  that  it 
is  no  accidental  or  passing  phase  :  it  has  its 
I  roots  in  the  eternal  will,  and  unless  we  resist  it 
in  wilful  obstinacy,  the  eternal  will  shall  at  last 

»  Rom.  vii".  2S-30.  *  Phil   i.  6. 


The  elect  69 


carry  it  on  to  perfection.    '  There  shall  never  be 
one  lost  good.' 

It  is  not  out  of  place  to  notice  in  this  connexion 
how  closely  akin  is  St.  Paul's  thought  to  the 
modern  philosophy  of  evolution.  Only  to  St. 
Paul  the  slow  process  of  cosmic  or  human 
evolution  is  in  no  kind  of  opposition  to  the  idea 
of  divine  design. 


HI. 

This  predestinated  body,  the  Church,  is  what 
in  another  word  St.   Paul  calls  the  'elect'  or 
'chosen.'     The  idea  of  election  has  had  a  very 
false  turn  given  to  it,  partly  through  mistakes 
which  have  been  already  alluded  to,  partly  be- 
cause the  idea  of  election  has  been  separated 
from  another  idea  with  which  in  the  Bible  it  is 
most  closely  associated,  the  idea  of  a  universal-- 
purpose  to  which  the  elect  minister.    No  thought  \ 
can  be  more  prominent  in  the  Old  Testament  \ 
than  the  thought  that  some  men  out  of  multi-  \ 
tudes  have   been  chosen   by  God   to   be   in   a 
special  relation  of  intimacy  with   Him.     *  You 
only  have  I  known,  O  Israel,  of  all  the  families  of 
the  earth.'     But  this  election  to  special  know- 
ledge of  God,  and  special  spiritual  opportunity, 


70         The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

carries  with  it  a  corresponding  responsibility.   It 
is  no  piece  of  favouritism  on  God's  part.     The 
greater  our  opportunity  the  more  is  required  of 
i  us.     '  You  only  have  I  known  of  all  the  families 
\  of  the  earth  ;  therefore  will  I  visit  upon  you  all 
*  your  iniquities  ^/     The  fact  is  that  the  principle 
of  inequality  in  capacity  and  opportunity  runs 
through  the  whole  world  both  in  individuals  and 
in  societies.     A  great  genius  or  a  great  nation 
has   special    privileges    and   opportunities,  but 
also,  in  the  sight  of  God  who  judges  men  ac- 
cording to  their  opportunities,  special  responsi- 
;  bilities.     But  also  (and  this  is  by  far  the  most 
)  important  point)  the  special  vocation  of  every 
elect  individual  or  body  is  for  the  sake  of  others  ^. 
ijit  is  God's  method  to  work  through  the  few 
(  [upon  the  many.     That  is  the  law  of  ministry 
which  binds  all  the  world  of  strong  and  weak, 
of  rich  and  poor,  of  learned  and  ignorant,  into 
one.     Thus  Abraham  had   been  chosen  alone, 
but  it  was  that,  through  his  seed,  all  the  nations 
of  the   earth    should   be    blessed.     Israel   was 
exclusively  the  people   of   God,  but  it  was  in 
order  that  all  nations  should  learn  from  them 
\  at  last  the  word  of  God.      The  apostles  were 

*  Amos  iii.  2. 

^  On  the  Jewish  idea  of  election,  cf.  app.  note  C,  p.  261. 


The  elect  71 


the  first  'elect'  in  Christ  with  a  Httle  Jewish 
company.  *We'— so  St.  Paul  speaks  of  the 
Jewish  Christians — 'we  who  had  before  hoped 
in  Christ.'  But  it  was  to  show  the  way  to  all 
the  Gentiles  ('  ye  also,  who  have  heard  the  word 
of  the  truth,  the  gospel  of  your  salvation,')  who 
were  also  to  constitute  '  God's  own  possession ' 
and  His  '  heritage.'  The  purpose  to  be  realized 
is  a  universal  one  :  it  is  the  re-union  of  man 
with  man,  as  such,  by  being  all  together  re- 
united to  God  in  one  body.  And  this  idea  is 
to  have  application  even  beyond  the  bounds  of 
humanity.  Unity  is  the  principle  of  all  things 
as  God  created  the  w^orld.  '  In  Christ,'  St.  Paul 
writes  to  the  Colossians,  'all  things  consist'  or 
'hold  together  in  one  system ^'  It  is  only  sin, 
whether  in  man  or  in  the  dimly-known  spiritual 
world  which  lies  beyond,  which  has  spoiled  this 
unity,  and  in  separating  the  creatures  from  God 
has  separated  them  from  one  another.  And  the 
Church  of  the  reconciliation  is  God's  elect  body  to 
represent  a  divine  purpose  of  restoration  far  wider 
than  itself— extending  in  fact  to  all  creation.  It 
is  the  divine  purpose,  with  a  view  to  *  a  dispensa- 
tion of  the  fulness  of  the  times,  to  sum  up '  or 
'■  bring  together   again   in   unity '  all  things   in 

^  Col.  i.  I. 


72         The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

Christ ;  the  things  in  the  heaven,  the  dim  spiritual 
forces  of  which  we  have  only  ghmpses,  and  the 
things  upon  the  earth  which  we  know  so  miach 
better. 

This  great  and  rich  idea  of  the  election  of  the 
Church  as  a  special  body  to  fulfil  a  universal 
purpose  of  recovery,  cannot  be  expressed  better 
than  in  the  very  ancient  prayer  which  forms 
part  of  the  paschal  ceremonies  of  the  Latin 
liturgy.  '  O  God  of  unchangeable  power  and 
eternal  light,  look  favourably  on  Thy  whole 
Church,  that  wonderful  and  sacred  mystery, 
and  by  the  tranquil  operation  of  Thy  perpetual 
providence,  carry  out  the  work  of  man's  salva- 
tion ;  and  let  the  whole  world  feel  and  see  that 
things  which  were  cast  down  are  being  raised 
up,  and  things  which  had  grown  old  are  being 
made  new,  and  all  things  are  returning  to  per- 
fection through  Him,  from  whom  they  took 
their  origin,  even  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.' 

iv. 

This  universal  reconciliation  through  a 
catholic  church  was  God's  eternal  purpose, 
but  it  w^as  kept  secret  from  the  ages  and  the 
generations,  only  at  last  to  be  disclosed  to  His 


The  divine  secret  disclosed  73 

apostles  and  prophets.  The  word  'm3^stery* 
in  the  New  Testament  means  mostly  a  divine 
secret  which  has  now  been  disclosed.  Just  as 
the  secret  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  dream,  i.  e.  the 
purpose  of  God  in  the  then  order  of  the  world, 
was  imparted  to  Daniel,  so  now  the  great  dis- 
closure of  the  divine  myster}^  or  secret  has  been 
made,  primarily  indeed  to  apostles  and  prophets, 
but  through  them  to  the  whole  body  of  the 
faithful.  The  faithful  must  of  course  begin 
by  receiving  that  simplest  spiritual  nourishment 
which  is  milk  for  babes.  They  are  to  welcome 
the  divine  forgiveness  of  their  sins  in  Christ, 
and  the  gift  of  new  life  through  Him  in  their 
baptism  and  the  laying-on  of  hands.  They  are 
to  be  taught  the  rudimentary  truths  and  moral 
lessons  which  are  the  first  principles  of  the 
oracles  of  Christ.  But  they  are  not  to  stop 
with  this.  They  are,  and  they  are  all  of  them 
without  exception  \  intended  to  grow  up  to  the 
full  apprehension  of  the  wisdom  of  the  '  perfect ' 
or  perfectly  initiated.  They  are  to  dwell  upon 
the  divine  secret,  now  revealed,  of  God's  pur- 
pose for  the  universe  through  the  church  till 
their  whole  heart  and  intellect  and  imagination 
is  enlightened  and  enriched  by  it. 

*  Col.  i.  a8. 


74        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 


V. 

And  is  the  greatness  of  this  exaltation  and 
knowledge  vouchsafed  to  the  Church  to  be 
a  renewed  occasion  of  pride  —  that  spiritual 
pride,  the  fatal  results  of  which  had  already 
become  apparent  through  the  rejection  of  the 
Jews  ?  No :  unless  through  a  complete  mistake, 
the  very  opposite  must  be  the  result.  The 
strength  of  human  pride,  as  St.  Paul  had  seen 
long  ago,  lay  in  the  idea  that  man  could  have 
merit  of  his  own,  face  to  face  with  God  :  could 
have  good  works  which  were  his  own  and  not 
God's,  and  which  gave  him  a  claim  upon  God. 
That  Jewish  doctrine  of  merit  ^  had  been  con- 
victed of  utter  falsity  in  St.  Paul's  own  spiritual 
experience.  He  had  found  himself  brought  to 
acknowledge,  like  any  sinner  of  the  Gentiles, 
his  simple  dependence  upon  the  divine  com- 
passion for  forgiveness  and  acceptance.  This 
spiritual  experience  of  St.  Paul  was  only  the 
realizing  through  one  channel  of  what  is,  in 
fact,  an  elementary  truth  about  human  nature. 
The  idea  of  human  independence  is  demon- 
strably a  false  idea.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  man 
draws    his    life,    physical    and    spiritual,    from 

^  See  app.  note  C,  p.  257. 


//  IS  all  of  grace  75 

sources  beyond  himself — from  the  one  source, 
God.  In  constant  dependence  on  God  he  Hves 
necessarily  from  moment  to  moment,  whether 
to  breathe,  or  think,  or  will.  The  freedom  of 
will  which  he  has  is  not  really  originative  or 
creative  power,  but  a  capacity  of  voluntary 
correspondence  with  what  is  given  him  from 
beyond  himself.  In  that  power  of  correspon- 
dence, or  refusal  to  correspond,  man's  liberty 
begins  and  ends.  He  creates  nothing.  It  is 
not  that  man  does  something  and  then  God 
does  the  rest.  The  truth  is  that  when  we  track 
man's  good  action  to  its  root  in  his  will,  we  find 
for  certain  that  God  has  been  beforehand  with 
him.  The  good  he  does  is  in  correspondence 
with  moral  and  physical  laws  and  forces  of  the 
universe,  or,  in  other  words,  with  divine  powers 
and  purposes  lent  and  suggested  to  him.  To 
attempt  independence  of  God,  to  have  schemes 
and  plans  absolutely  one's  own,  is  to  work 
arbitrarily  and  ignorantly,  and  ultimately  to  fail 
and  to  know  that  one  has  failed.  Thus  men, 
when  they  realize  the  facts  of  their  condition, 
must  depend,  and  rejoice  to  depend,  wholly 
upon  God  as  for  forgiveness  where  they  have 
done  wrong,  so  also  for  suggestion  and  power 
that  they  may  do  anything  aright.    There  is 


76        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

then  no  room  for  human  pride.  It  is  a  mistake. 
We  come  back  to  recognize,  what  St.  Paul 
reahzed  in  his  own  deep  spiritual  experience 
and  taught  the  Church  at  the  beginning.  What- 
ever is  good  in  the  world  is  all  of  divine 
initiation  and  of  divine  grace.  It  is  all,  not  to 
our  glory,  but  (as  St.  Paul  three  times  repeats 
in  the  opening  paragraphs  of  our  epistle)  '  to 
the  praise  of  his  glory,'  or  '  to  the  praise  of  the 
glory  of  his  grace  which  he  freely  bestows  on 
us  *  out  of  His  pure  love  and  goodwill. 

These  are  the  great  leading  thoughts  which 
are  in  St.  Paul's  mind  as  he  begins  to  write  to 
the  Asiatic  Christians.  His  heart,  his  imagina- 
tion, his  intellect  is  full  of  the  thought  of  the 
catholic  society  as  it  exists  in  Christ,  the 
extension  of  His  life;  of  this  society  as  the  out- 
come of  an  eternal  and  slow-working  purpose 
of  God ;  of  this  society,  as  serving  universal 
divine  ends  for  humanity  and  for  the  universe; 
of  this  society,  as  affording  a  sphere  in  which 
all  men's  faculties  may  be  enlightened  and 
delighted  with  the  depth  and  largeness  of  the 
divine  purpose ;  while  his  whole  being  is  kept, 
safe  from  all  the  delusions  of  pride,  in  continual 
and  conscious  dependence  upon  divine  grace. 


Sf.  Paitrs  leading  thoughts         77 

With  these  thoughts  reflected  in  our  minds  we 
shall  find  that  we  have  the  main  clue  to  the 
whole  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  and  more 
particularly  to  all  the  words  of  the  opening  chap- 
ter, which  St.  Paul  begins  with  a  great  ascription 
of  praise  to  God  for  the  blessing  of  the  Church. 

Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  hath  blessed  us  with  every  spiritual  blessing 
in  the  heavenly  places  in  Christ :  even  as  he  chose  us  in 
him  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  that  we  should 
be  holy  and  without  blemish  before  him  in  love  :  having 
foreordained  us  unto  adoption  as  sons  through  Jesus 
Christ  unto  himself,  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  his 
will,  to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his  grace,  which  he 
freely  bestowed  on  us  in  the  Beloved :  in  whom  w^e  have 
our  redemption  through  his  blood,  the  forgiveness  of  our 
trespasses,  according  to  the  riches  of  his  grace,  which  he 
made  to  abound  toward  us  in  all  wisdom  and  prudence, 
having  made  known  unto  us  the  mystery  of  his  will, 
according  to  his  good  pleasure  which  he  purposed  in  him 
unto  a  dispensation  of  the  fulness  of  the  times,  to  sum  up 
all  things  in  Christ,  the  things  in  the  heavens,  and  the 
things  upon  the  earth ;  in  him,  /  say,  in  whom  also  we 
were  made  a  heritage,  having  been  foreordained  ac- 
cording to  the  purpose  of  him  who  worketh  all  things 
after  the  counsel  of  his  will ;  to  the  end  that  we  should  be 
unto  the  praise  of  his  glory,  we  who  had  before  hoped  in 
Christ :  in  whom  ye  also,  having  heard  the  word  of  the 
truth,  the  gospel  of  your  salvation, — in  whom,  having  also 
believed,  ye  were  sealed  with  the  Holy  Spirit  of  promise, 
which  is  an  earnest  of  our  inheritance,  unto  the  redemp- 
tion of  God's  OAm  possession,  unto  the  praise  of  his  glory. 


78        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 


DIVISION  I.  §  2.    Chapter  I.  15-23. 
St.  P aid's  Prayer. 

St.  Paul  follows  up  this  first  expression  of  the 
great  thoughts  that  fill  his  mind  with  a  deep 
and  comprehensive  thanksgiving  for  that  large 
measure  of  correspondence  with  the  divine  pur- 
pose which  is  reported  from  the  Asiatic  churches, 
and  with  a  prayer  for  their  full  enlightenment  in 
heart  and  intellect.  He  prays  that  they  may 
rise  to  the  true  science  of  what  their  Christian 
caUing,  as  fellow-inheritors  with  the  saints  of 
the  divine  blessing,  really  means;  and  to  an 
adequate  expectation  of  what  God  intends  to  do 
in  them,  on  the  analogy  of  what  He  has  already 
done  in  Christ  their  head. 

For  this  cause  I  also,  having  heard  of  the  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  which  is  among  you,  and  which  ye  shew 
toward  all  the  saints,  cease  not  to  give  thanks  for  you, 
making  mention  of  you  in  my  prayers ;  that  the  God  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Father  of  glory,  may  give  unto 
you  a  spirit  of  wisdom  and  revelation  in  the  knowledge  of 
him  ;  having  the  eyes  of  your  heart  enlightened,  that  ye 
may  know  what  is  the  hope  of  his  calling,  what  the  riches 


SL  Paulas  prayer  79 

of  the  glory  of  his  inheritance  in  the  saints,  and  what  the 
exceeding  greatness  of  his  power  to  us-ward  who  beheve, 
according  to  that  working  of  the  strength  of  his  might 
which  he  wrought  in  Christ,  when  he  raised  him  from  the 
dead,  and  made  him  to  sit  at  his  right  hand  in  the  heavenly 
places,  far  above  all  rule,  and  authority,  and  power,  and 
dominion,  and  every  name  that  is  named,  not  only  in  this 
world,  but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come :  and  he  put  all 
things  in  subjection  under  his  feet,  and  gave  him  to  be 
head  over  all  things  to  the  church,  which  is  his  body,  the 
fulness  of  him  that  filleth  all  in  all. 

There  is  very  little  further  explanation  needed 
for  this  passage.  But  three  phrases  may  be 
noted : — 

(i)  St.  Paul  calls  the  Father  '  the  God  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,'  as  our  Lord  Himself  calls 
Him  '  my  God '  (John  xx.  17)  in  His  resurrection 
state.  It  is  no  doubt  of  Christ  as  man  that  the 
Father  is  God ;  but  this  relation  of  the  Son  as 
man  to  the  Father  depends  upon  an  eternal 
subordination  in  which  the  Son,  even  as  God, 
stands  to  the  Father  from  whom  He  derives  His 
divine  life.  The  essential  subordination  of  the 
Son  (and  Spirit)  to  the  Father  as  the  one  fount 
of  Godhead,  is  continually  suggested  in  the 
New  Testament ;  but  it  involves  no  inferiority 
in  Godhead,  or  subsequence  in  time — '  nothing 
before  or  after,  nothing  greater  or  less/  as  the 
Quicunque  vult  says.    And  it  conveys  to  us  the 


8o         The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

moral  lesson  that  a  subordinate  position  is  not 
to  be  resented  as  if  it  were  a  dishonour. 

(2)  The  spirit  of  *  wisdom  and  revelation' 
vouchsafed  to  us  is  to  enable  us  to  apprehend 
in  a  measure  the  divine  'wisdom  and  prudence^' 
manifested  in  God's  work  of  creation  and  re- 
demption. The  humility  which  is  content  to 
correspond  patiently  and  teachably  with  the 
method  of  God  is,  as  Francis  Bacon  was  at 
pains  to  teach,  of  the  essence  of  all  fruitful 
human  science. 

(3)  The  expression  '  the  fulness '  or  *  the  ful- 
ness of  the  Godhead  -^ '  means  the  sum  total  of 
the  divine  attributes,  which,  instead  of  being 
spread  over  different  angelic  mediators,  as  the 
Colossians  were  disposed  to  imagine,  are,  by 
the  divine  will,  all  concentrated  and  combined 
in  the  glorified  Christ.  And  here  St.  Paul 
teaches  the  Ephesian  Christians  that  all  that 
belongs  to  the  glorified  Christ  is  to  belong  also 
to  the  Church,  which  is  His  body.  It  is  Christ 
who  gives  to  all  creatures  whatever  various  gifts 
of  life  they  have.  He  '  filleth  all  in  all';  that  is, 
'  He  filleth  the  whole  universe  with  all  variety  of 


'  i.  8. 

2  See  Col.  i   19 ;  ii.  9  ;  cf.  ii.  3,  *  in  Christ  are  all  the  treasures 
of  wisdom  and  knowledge  hidden.' 


Sf.  Paurs  prayer  8i 

gifts.'  But  something  much  more  than  various 
gifts — the  sum  total  of  all  He  is — He  pours,  or 
intends  to  pour,  into  the  Church,  so  that  the 
Church  as  well  as  the  Christ  shall  embody,  and 
thus  be  identified  with,  the  fulness  of  the  divine 
attributes.  At  present  the  Church  is  this  only 
ideally,  or  in  the  divine  intention :  the  actually 
existing  Church  has  still  much  need  of  growth 
that  her  members  '  may  be  filled  (as  they  are 
not  at  present)  up  to  the  measure  of  the  divine 
fulness';  or,  in  other  words,  up  to  'the 
measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  the 
Christ  ^' 

The  fulness,  according  to  St.  Paul's  doctrine, 
is  to  be  sought  first  in  the  eternal  God ;  then  in 
the  glorified  Christ;  then,  through  Him,  in  the 
fully  developed  Church ;  and,  finally,  through 
the  Church,  in  a  sense  in  the  universe  as  a  whole, 
when  the  work  of  redemption  is  done  and  God 
is  at  last  '  all  in  all '  throughout  His  creation. 

It  may  be  noticed  that  St.  Paul,  in  this  doctrine 
of  *  the  fulness,'  is  thinking  rather  of  the  divine 
attributes  as  manifested,  than  as  they  are  in 
themselves :   and  of  Christ,  not  as  the  eternal 

*  Eph.  iii.  19;  iv.  13.  It  is  not  certain  that  by  Him  'who  filleth 
all  in  all '  St.  Paul  does  not  mean  the  Father  rather  than  the  Son. 
But  iv.  10  supports  the  interpretation  given  above. 

G 


82        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephestans 

Son  of  God,  but,  more  particularly,  as  incarnate 
and  glorified.  It  was  the  '  good  pleasure '  of 
the  Father  to  fill  the  exalted  Christ,  the  first- 
begotten  from  the  dead,  with  the  fulness  of 
divine  glory  and  power  as  the  reward  of  the 
humility  and  love  which  He  showed  when  He 
'emptied  himself  in  taking  the  form  of  a  servant  ^' 
This  bestowal  was  no  doubt  a  giving  anew  to 
Him,  as  man  and  as  head  of  the  Church,  what 
was  eternally  His  as  Son  of  the  Father. 

There  is  another  interpretation  adopted  by 
Chrysostom  in  ancient  times,  and  by  Dr.  Hort 
among  moderns,  of  the  phrase  'the  church 
which  is  his  body,  the  fulness  of  him  who 
fiUeth  all  in  all/  According  to  them  the  Church 
is  regarded  as  making  the  Christ  complete.  It  is 
in  this  sense  the  'fulfilment'  of  Christ,  because 
without  the  Church  He  would  be  a  head  with- 
out its  members:  and  then  the  rest  of  the  sentence 
should  *be  translated  differently — '  the  church 
which  is  his  body,  the  fulfilment  of  him  who  is 
fulfilled  in  all  ways  with  all  things.'  But  this  is 
decidedly  less  agreeable  to  the  general  use  of 
the  expression  'the  fulness'  in  the  epistles  to 
the  Colossians  and  Ephesians  ^. 

1  Col.  i.  19  ;  Phil.  ii.  9-11. 

2  And  the  word  rendered  *  filleth  '  may  have  a  middle  and  not 


Some  practical  lessons  83 

We  may  also  pause  to  recognize  one  or  two 
ways  in  which  St.  Paul's  view  of  the  Christian 
religion,  as  exhibited  in  the  opening  of  this 
epistle,  suggests  special  deficiencies  among  our- 
selves. 

(i)  St.  Paul's  Christianity  is  a  religion  of 
thankfulness.  This  epistle  is  a  burst  of  exube- 
rant praise.  Yet  he  was  himself  a  prisoner,  and 
the  church  of  Ephesus,  with  the  other  Asiatic 
churches,  was  sorely  threatened  with  moral  and 
jspiritual  perils  of  all  kinds.  The  secret  of  this 
(thankfulness  is  that  he  looks  straight  away  from 
(himself  and  his  surroundings  up  to  God.  He 
measures  the  value  of  human  life  and  work  not 
by  what  immediate  experience  suggests,  but  by 
What  he  knows  of  the  purpose  of  God.  In  spite 
of  all  the  obstacles  opposed  by  human  wilfulness 
and  weakness  and  sin,  he  knows  that  His  pur- 
pose will  effect  itself:  therefore  he  'rejoices  in 
the  Lord  always,'  and  no  discouraging  circum- 
stances can  quench  the  springs  of  his  rejoicing. 
Our  Christianity  is  apt  to  be  of  a  very  *  dutiful ' 
kind.  We  mean  to  do  our  duty,  we  attend 
church  and  go  to  our  communions.  But  our 
hearts  are  full  of  the  difficulties,  the  hardships, 

a  passive  sense,  the  idea  being  perhaps  suggested  that  God  '  fills 
all  things  for  his  ovyn  purpose.' 

G  2 


84        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

the  obstacles  which  the  situation  presents,  and 
we    go    on    our  way  sadly,  downhearted    and 
despondent.     We  need  to  learn  or  learn  anew 
from  St.  Paul  that  true  Christianity  is  insepar- 
able from  deep  joy ;  and  the  secret  of  that  joy 
■  lies  in  a  continual  looking  away  from  all  else — 
'  away  from  sin  and  its  ways,  and  from  the  mani- 
i  fold  hindrances  to  the  good  we  would  do— up  to 
/  God,  His  love,  His  purpose.  His  will.     In  pro- 
portion  as  we  do   look   up  to   Him   we  shall 
rejoice,  and  in  proportion  as  we  rejoice  in  the 
Lord  will  our  religion  have  tone  and  power  and 
;  attractiveness. 

(2)  St.  Paul  appeals  to  the  Asiatic  Christians 
not  to  become  something  they  are  not,  or  to 
acquire  some  spiritual  gift  that  they  have  not 
received,  but  simply  to  realize  what  they  already 
are,  and  to  claim  the  privileges  of  their  baptized 
state.  They  are  already  'adopted  as  sons^' 
They  have,  like  the  Galatians,  received  'the 
Spirit  of  adoption.'  The  point  now  is  that  they 
should  realize  and  put  into  practice  what  already 
belongs  to  them.  This  mode  of  appeal  is  based 
on  the  doctrine — in  spite  of  its  man}^  perversions 
the  most  valuable  doctrine — of  baptismal  regene- 

*  That  is,  they  were  '  predestined  to  an  adoption  '  ^Eph.  i.  5) 
which  it  is  implied  they  have  aheady  received. 


Some  practical  lessons  85 

ration.  The  false  method  of  appeal — as  if  care- 
less Christians  needed  to  become  sons  of  God^ 
which  involves  a  false  idea  of '  regeneration/  has 
been  so  much  identified  with  popular  Protes- 
tantism, that  I  cannot  do  better  than  quote  some 
very  apposite  remarks  by  the  late  Congrega- 
tionalist  teacher,  Dr.  Dale,  of  blessed  memor}^, 
from  his  noble  commentary  on  this  very  epistle 
to  the  Ephesians  : — 

'This  adoption  of  which  Paul  speaks  is  something  more 
than  a  mere  legal  and  formal  act,  conveying  certain  high 
prerogatives.  We  are  "  called  the  sons  of  God  "  because 
v^e  are  really  made  His  sons  by  a  new  and  supernatural 
birth.  Regeneration  is  sometimes  described  as  though  it 
were  merely  a  change  in  a  man's  principles  of  conduct  in 
his  character,  his  tastes,  his  habits.  The  description  is 
theologically  false,  and  practically  most  pernicious  and 
misleading.  If  regeneration  were  nothing  more  than" 
this,  we  should  have  to  speak  of  a  man  as  being  more  or 
less  regenerate,  according  to  the  extent  of  his  moral  refor- 
mation ;  but  this  would  be  contrary  to  the  idiom  of  New 
Testament  thought.  That  a  great  change  in  the  moral 
region  of  a  man's  nature  will  certainly  follow  regeneration 
is  true;  this  change,  however,  is  not  regeneration  itself,  but 
the  effect  of  regeneration  ;  and  the  moral  change  which 
regeneration  produces  varies  in  many  ways  in  different 
men.  In  some  the  change  is  immediate,  decisive,  and 
apparently  complete.  In  others  it  is  extremely  gradual, 
and  may  be  for  a  long  time  hardly  discernible.  In  some 
regenerate  men  grave  sins  remain  for  a  time  unforsaken, 
perhaps  unrecognized.  Look  at  these  Ephesian  Christians. 


86        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephestans 

The  Apostle  has  to  tell  them  that  they  must  put  away 
falsehood  and  speak  the  truth ;  that  they  must  give  up 
thieving,  and  foul  talk,  and  covetousness,  and  gross 
sensual  sin. 

'  He  addresses  them  as  "  saints."  He  describes  them  as 
having  been  chosen  in  Christ  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  and  foreordained  by  God  unto  adoption  as  sons 
unto  Himself;  and  yet  he  knows  that  they  are  in  danger 
of  committing  these  base  and  flagrant  offences.  It  was 
hard  for  them  to  escape  from  the  vices  of  heathenism. 
They  were  regenerate ;  but  as  yet,  in  some  of  them,  the 
moral  effects  of  regeneration  were  very  incomplete,  the 
change  which  regeneration  was  ultimately  certain  to  pro- 
duce in  their  moral  life  had  only  begun,  and  it  was 
checked  and  hindered  by  a  thousand  hostile  influences. 

'  The  simplest  and  most  obvious  account  of  regeneration 
is  the  truest.  When  a  man  is  regenerated  he  receives 
a  new  life  and  receives  it  from  God.  In  itself  regene- 
ration is  not  a  change  in  his  old  life,  but  the  beginning 
of  a  new  life  which  is  conferred  by  the  immediate 
and  supernatural  act  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  man  is 
really  "  born  again."  A  higher  nature  comes  to  him  than 
that  which  he  inherited  from  his  human  parents  ;  he  is 
."  begotten  of  God,"  ''  born  of  the  Spirit.'" 

This  passage,  especially  as  coming  from  Dr. 
Dale,  supplies  a  very  valuable  corrective  to  still 
current  religious  mistakes.  But  surely  we  have 
no  ground  for  saying  that  the  moral  effects 
*  certainly*  follow  regeneration,  or  follow  it  in  all 
cases.  It  is  not  *  ultimately  certain  to  produce  * 
them  in   all   persons,   but   only  in   those  who 


Some  practical  lessons  87 

exhibit,  sooner  or  later,  the  moral  correspondence 
of  a  converted  will. 

(3)  Most  Christians  who  have  reacted  from  Cal- 
vinism and  its  false  doctrine  of  predestination  have 
ceased  to  think  about  the  truth  which  it  repre- 
sents. But  we  need  to  make  a  right  instead  of 
a  wrong  use  of  these  great  ideas  of  predestination 
and  election,  and  thus  to  get  rid  of  all  the  miser- 
able narrowness  and  hopelessness  which  settles 
down  upon  us  when  we  allow  ourselves  to  think 
of  religion  as  mainly  a  process  of  saving  our  own 
souls,  and  when  we  live  only  in  our  present 
feelings. 

What  can  be  more  inspiring  and  strengthening 
than  to  believe  that  there  is  an  eternal  purpose 
of  God  working  itself  out  in  the  universe  through 
all  its  stages  and  parts ;  that  this  eternal  purpose 
includes  us,  and  has  fastened  upon  us  indi- 
vidually and  brought  us  into  Christ  and  His 
Church,  to  make  true  men  of  us ;  and  that  it 
has  done  all  this  not  for  our  own  sakes  only, 
but  to  disclose  something  more  of  God's  glory 
and  for  the  fulfilment  of  great  and  universal 
purposes,  which  are  to  radiate  out  even  from  us  ? 
Wherever  St.  Paul  sees  the  hand  of  God  in 
present  experience,  at  once  his  mind  works 
back  to  an  eternal  will  and  therefore  also  for- 


88         The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

ward  to  an  eternal  and  adequate  result.  And 
this  backward  and  forward  look  transfigures 
the  present  with  a  new  glory  and  a  fresh  hope. 
So  will  it  be  with  us  if  this  same  characteristi- 
cally Christian  way  of  looking  at  any  apparent 
movement  of  God  in  the  present,  in  our  own 
souls  or  in  the  world  outside  us,  becomes 
habitually  and  instinctively  ours.  God  never 
acts  on  a  sudden  impulse  or  without  purpose 
of  continuance.  Certainly  He  can  be  trusted 
not  to  stop  and  leave  things  unfinished.  When 
He  hath  begun  any  good  work  He  will  assuredly 
perfect  it,  if  we  will  let  Him. 


The  depth  of  sin  89 


DIVISION  I.  §  3.     Chapter  II.  i-io. 

Sin  and  redemption. 

In  the  first  chapter  of  the  epistle,  St.  Paul 
has  had  before  his  eyes  the  glory  of  God's 
redemptive  work— the  wonder  of  His  purpose 
of  pure  love  for  the  universe  through  the 
^Church.  His  imagination  has  kindled  at  the 
thought  of  the  length,  the  breadth,  the  height 
of  the  divine  operation  : — the  length,  for  it  is 
an  eternal  purpose  slowly  worked  out  through 
the  ages ;  the  breadth,  for  it  is  to  extend  over 
the  whole  universe ;  the  height,  for  it  is  to  carry 
men  up  to  no  lower  point  than  the  throne  of 
Christ  in  the  heavenly  places.  But  now  he 
stops  to  call  the  attention  of  his  converts  to 
what  we  may  call  a  *  fourth  dimension '  of  the 
divine  operation— its  depth.  How  wonderfully 
low  God  had  stooped,  in  order  to  reach  the 
point  to  which  man  had  sunk!  The  Asiatic 
Christians  are  bidden  to  ponder  anew,  and  by 


90        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

contrast  to  their  present  experience,  the  hfe 
which  they  had  once  Hved  before  they  knew 
Christ  or  were  found  in  Him. 

Let  us  read  the  apostle's  words,  and  then 
consider  them  in  detail : — 

And  you  did  he  quicken,  when  ye  were  dead  through 
your  trespasses  and  sins,  wherein  aforetime  ye  walked 
according  to  the  course  of  this  world,  according  to  the 
prince  of  the  power  of  the  air,  of  the  spirit  that  now 
worketh  in  the  sons  of  disobedience  ;  among  whom  we 
also  all  once  lived  in  the  lusts  of  our  flesh,  doing  the 
desires  of  the  flesh  and  of  the  mind,  and  were  by  nature 
children  of  wrath,  even  as  the  rest. 

We  naturally  put  as  a  parallel  to  these  and 
other  verses  of  this  epistle  (iv.  17-19)  the  terrible 
passage  in  Romans  i,  where  St.  Paul  describes 
the  developement  of  sin  in  the  Gentile  world ; 
how  it  had  its  origin  in  the  refusal  of  the  human 
will  to  recognize  God,  how  out  of  the  perversion 
of  will  it  spread  to  the  blinding  of  the  under- 
standing, and  then  to  giving  an  overmaster- 
ing power  and  an  unnatural  distor-tion  to  the 
passions,  so  that  a  state  of  moral  lawlessness 
was  produced  and  maintained. 

What  are  we  to  say  as  to  the  truth  of  these 
accounts  of  the  moral  condition  of  the  heathen 
world  ?     No  doubt  there  is  a  good  deal  to  be 


The  depth  of  sin  91 

said  on  the  other  side.  Roman  simplicity  and 
virtue,  and  the  sanctity  of  domestic  Hfe,  had 
not,  as  contemporary  inscriptions  and  historical 
records  make  perfectly  evident,  faded  out  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  and  philanthropy  and  love  of 
the  poor  were  recognized  excellences.  Nor  had 
philosophic  virtue  vanished  from  the  schools  \ 
And  all  this  St.  Paul  would  not  be  slow  to 
recognize.  In  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  ^  itself 
he  speaks  in  language,  such  as  a  Stoic  might 
have  used,  of  those  who,  uninstructed  by  any 
special  divine  law,  were  a  law  unto  themselves, 
in  that  they  showed  the  practical  effect  of  the 
law  written  in  their  hearts.  We  must  therefore 
recognize  that  St.  Paul  is,  in  the  passage  we  are 
now  considering,  speaking  ideally;  that  is  to 
say,  he  is  speaking  of  the  general  tendency  of 
the  heathen  life,  just  as  he  speaks  ideally  of  the 
Christian  church  in  view  of  its  general  ten- 
dency; and  he  is  speaking  of  it  as  he  mostly 
knew  it  himself  in  the  notoriously  corrupt  cities 
of  the  east,  Antioch  and  Ephesus.  Ephesus,  in  / 
particular,  had  an  extraordinarily  bad  character 
for  vice  as  much  as  for  superstition ;  and  what 

'  On   the   virtuous   aspect   of  the   contemporary  empire,  see 
Renan,  Les  Apotres^  pp.  306  ff. 
^  Rom.  ii.  14. 


92         The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

St.  Paul  says  of  the  heathen  life  does  not  in  fact 
make  up  a  stronger  indictment  or  present  a 
blacker  picture  than  what  is  said  by  a  Stoic 
philosopher,  perhaps  his  contemporary,  who 
wrote  at  Ephesus,  under  the  shelter  of  the  name 
of  the  great  Ephesian  of  ancient  days,  Hera- 
cleitus  \  Moreover,  St.  Paul  appeals  unhesi- 
tatingly to  the  actual  experience  of  these  Asiatic 
Christians,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
their  consciences  would  have  responded  to  what 
he  said  to  them  about  the  old  life  out  of  which 
they  had  been  brought. 

Let  us  now  analyze  a  little  more  exactly 
this  account  St.  Paul  gives  of  the  state  of  sin 
which  he  saw  around  him  in  contemporary 
society. 

(t)  *  Ye  walked  according  to  the  course  of 
this  world.'  By  'this  world'  St.  Paul,  like  the 
other  New  Testament  writers,  means  practically 
human  society  as  it  organizes  itself  for  its  own 
purposes  of  pleasure  or  profit  without  thought 
of  God,  or  at  least  without  thought  of  God  as 
He  truly  is.  These  Asiatic  Christians,  then,  had 
formerly  ordered  their  life  and  conduct  accord- 
ing to  the  demands  and  expectations  of  the 
worldly  world,  obeying  its  motives,  governed 

^  See  app.  note  B,  p.  255. 


The  depth  of  sin  93 

by  its  fashions  and  its  laws,  and  indifferent  to 
those  considerations  which  it  repudiated  or 
ignored. 

(2)  But  to  belong  to  the  world  in  this  sense 
is,  in  St.  Paul's  mind,  to  belong  to  the  kingdom 
of  Satan.  The  worldly  world  had  its  origin 
from  a  false  desire  of  independence  on  man's 
part.  He  did  not  want  to  be  controlled  by  God  ; 
he  wanted  to  live  his  own  life  for  himself.  But 
in  hberating  himself  according  to  his  wishes 
from  the  control  of  God  he  fell,  according  to 
St.  Paul's  behef,  under  another  control.  Re- 
bellion had  been  in  the  universe  before  man. 
There  are  invisible  rebel  spirits,  of  whose  real 
existence  and  influence  St.  Paul  had  no  more 
doubt  than  any  other  Jew  who  was  not  a  Saddu- 
cee.  And,  indeed,  our  Lord  had  so  spoken  of 
good  and  evil  spirits  as  to  assure  His  disciples 
of  their  existence  and  influence.  These  rebel 
wills  are  unseen  by  us  and  in  most  respects 
unknown,  but  they  organize  and  give  a  certain 
coherence  and  continuity  to  evil  in  the  world. 
There  thus  arises  a  sort  of  kingdom  of  evil  over 
against  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  those  who  will 
not  surrender  themselves  to  God  and  His  king- 
dom, become  perforce  servants  of  Satan  and  his 
kingdom.    It  is  in  view  of  this  truth  that  St.  Paul 


1 


94        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

tells  these  Asiatic  Christians  that  they  used  to 
walk  according  '  to  the  prince  of  the  power  of 
the  air,  the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the  sons 
of  disobedience/  (These  evil  spirits  were,  by 
a  natural  way  of  thinking,  located  in  the  air, 
according  to  the  contemporary  Jewish  ideas ; 
and  the  idea  is,  if  nothing  more,  a  convenient 
metaphor  for  a  subtle  and  pervading  influence.) 
This  view  of  their  old  life,  as  a  bondage  to  evil 
spirits,  is  one  which  would  be  as  easily  realized 
by  inhabitants  of  Asiatic  cities,  where  men  were 
largely  occupied  in  finding  charms  against  bad 
spirits,   as    by  modern    Indian    converts    from 

)  devil-worship.  Christianity  recognizes  a  basis 
of  reality  in  the  superstition  from  which  at  the 
same  time  it  deUvers  men. 

(3)  The  main  characteristic  of  this  old  godless 
\     life  had  been  lawlessness,  but  St.  Paul  here,  as 
in  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  associates  Jews 
with   Gentiles,   '  we '  with   *  you,'   in   the  same 
condemnation.      The  spirits,  or  real  selves  of 
the  Christians,  had  been,  in  their  former  state, 
dominated  by  their  appetites  or  their  imagina- 
tions.    They  were  occupied  in  doing  what  their 
!\  flesh  or  their  thoughts  suggested.     It  is  notice- 
S  able  that  St.  Paul  puts  'the  mind '  side  by  side 
rwith  'the  flesh'  as  a  cause   of  sin,   the   intel- 


The  depth  of  sin  95 

lectual  side  by  side  with  the  sensual  and 
emotional  nature.  We  often  in  fact,  in  our  age, 
have  experience  of  people  who  are  not '  sensual ' 
in  the  ordinary  sense,  but  who  live  lives  which 
have  no  goodness,  no  perseverance,  no  order,  no 
fruitfulness  in  them,  because  they  are  the  slaves 
of  the  ideas  of  their  own  mind  as  they  present 
themselves,  now  one,  now  another;  unregulated 
ideas  being  in  fact,  just  as  much  as  unregulated 
passions,  fluctuating,  arbitrary,  and  tyrannous. 
Nothing  is  more  truly  needed  to-day  than  the 
discipline  of  the  imagination. 

(4)  Men  living  such  a  life  of  bondage  are 
described  further  as  *  dead  through  their  tres- 
passes and  sins.'  St.  Paul  means  by  death  to 
describe  any  state  of  intellectual  and  moral 
insensibihty.  He  would  have  the  Christian 
'  dead '  to  the  motives  and  voices  of  the  worldly 
and  sensual  world.  So  in  the  same  way  he 
reminds  the  Asiatic  Christians  that  to  all  that 
life  of  God  in  which  they  were  now  fruitfully 
living,  they  had  at  one  time  been  insensible  or 
dead— that  is,  blind  to  those  things  which  now 
seemed  most  apparent,  unterrified  at  what  would 
now  seem  most  horrible,  unmoved  by  what  now 
seemed  most  fascinating.  And  if  this  was  their 
state  viewed  in  itself,  in  their  relation  to  God 


96        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

they  were,  like  the  Jews  also,  'children  of 
wrath/  This  expression  is  used  in  our  cate- 
chism to  describe  '  original  sin/  that  is  to  say, 
that  moral  disorder  or  weakness  which  belongs 
to  our  nature  as  we  inherit  it,  before  we  have 
had  the  opportunity  of  personal  wrong  doing. 
But  the  application  of  the  phrase  by  St.  Paul 
is  to  describe  rather  the  state  of  actual  sin  in 
which  Jew  and  Gentile  alike  'naturally'  lived. 
It  impHes  not  that  God  hated  them,  for  in 
the  whole  context  St.  Paul  is  emphasizing  '  the 
great  love  wherewith  he  loved  them  ' ;  but  that 
there  was  a  necessary  moral  incompatibility  be- 
tween them  as  they  then  were,  and  God  as 
He  essentially  and  permanently  is.  God  is  so 
necessarily  holy  that  His  being  is,  and  must  be, 
intolerable  to  the  unholy.  It  must  be  the  case 
that  at  the  bare  idea  of  the  divine  coming, 
*  sinners  in  Zion '  should  be  '  afraid,'  and  should 
say  one  to  another,  '  who  among  us  shall  dwell 
with  the  devouring  fire,  who  among  us  shall 
dwell  with  everlasting  burnings^ ?'  God  neces- 
sarily presents  Himself  ciS  a  terror  to  the  god- 
less ;  and  from  the  point  of  view  of  God  that 
means  that  our  sinful  nature  is  the  subject  of 
His  necessary  wrath.     He  resents  the  perver- 

^   Is.  xxxiii.  14,  15. 


The  method  of  redemption  97 

sion,  the  spoiling,  of  His  own  handiwork  in  us. 
He  cannot  tolerate  uncleanness,  rebellion,  un- 
belief. This  wrath  of  God,  in  the  case  of  those 
whose  wills  are  set  to  '  hate  the  light,'  is  directed 
against  men's  persons.  But  so  far  as  sin  is 
only  in  our  natures,  and  is  something  of  which 
we  are  the  unwilling  subjects,  it  appeals  only 
to  God's  compassion  to  lead  Him  to  spply 
effective  remedies.  His  wrath  is  so  far  against 
sin,  not  against  sinners ;  and  none  could 
know  better  than  these  Asiatic  Christians  what 
lengths  of  resourcefulness  and  self-sacrifice  the 
divine  compassion  had  gone  in  order  to 
redeem  men  from  its  tyranny.  Thus  St.  Paul 
continues : — 

But  God,  being  rich  in  mercy,  for  his  great  love  where- 
with he  loved  us,  even  when  we  were  dead  through  our 
trespasses,  quickened  us  together  with  Christ  (by  grace 
have  ye  been  saved),  and  raised  us  up  with  him,  and 
made  us  to  sit  with  him  in  the  heavenly /)/<7c^5,  in  Christ 
Jesus  :  that  in  the  ages  to  come  he  might  shew  the  ex- 
ceeding riches  of  his  grace  in  kindness  toward  us  in  Christ 
Jesus :  for  by  grace  have  ye  been  saved  through  faith  ; 
and  that  not  of  yourselves :  it  is  the  gift  of  God  :  not  of 
works,  that  no  man  should  glory.  For  we  are  his  work- 
manship, created  in  Christ  Jesus  for  good  works,  which 
God  afore  prepared  that  we  should  walk  in  them. 

Here  is  St.  Paul's  description  of  the  method 
of  God  in  dealing  with  men  when  they  were  in 

H 


98        The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

that  state  of  sin,  the  conditions  of  which  he  has 
just  summarised.  We  take  note  of  the  chief 
points  in  the  method. 

(i)  St.  Paul  has  in  mind  here,  as  always,  the 
divine  predestination.  There  was  an  eternal 
purpose  in  the  divine  mind  to  make  St.  Paul 
and  those  to  whom  he  wrote  such  as  they  were 
now  on  the  way  to  become ;  it  was  a  purpose 
not  merely  general,  but  extending  to  details. 
It  belongs,  in  fact,  to  the  divine  perfection,  that 
God  does  nothing,  and  purposes  nothing,  in 
mere  vague  generality.  The  universal  range 
and  scope  of  the  divine  activity  as  over  all 
creatures  whatsoever,  hinders  not  at  all  its  per- 
fect appHcation  to  detail.  Thus  God  had  'pre- 
destined,' or  held  in  His  eternal  purpose,  not 
merely  the  state  of  Christians  as  a  whole  or 
even  of  the  Asiatic  Christians  in  particular,  but 
the  details  of  conduct  which  He  willed  them 
individually  to  exhibit.  It  is  the  particular 
'  good  works '  which  God  '  prepared  beforehand 
in  order  that  they  should  walk  in  them  ^! 

(2)  What  God  predestined  He  accomplished 
first  in  summary  'in  Christ  Jesus.'  In  Him  all 
that  God  meant  to  do  for  man  was  exhibited 

^  Cf.  app.  note  C,  p.  263,  for  a  similar  thought  in  a  contemporary 
Jewish  book. 


The  method  of  redemption  99 

and  accomplished  as  God's  own  and  perfect 
handiwork,  as  an  effective  and  final  disclosure. 
Men  are  to  look  for  everything,  for  every  kind 
of  development  and  progress,  in  Christ,  but  for 
nothing  outside  or  beyond  Him.  All  is  there— 
*  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge,' 
all  'the  fulness  of  the  Godhead,'  all  the  per- 
fections of  mankind,  the  reconciliation  of  all 
seeming  opposites.  All  is  brought  to  the  highest 
possible  level  of  attainment,  'the  heavenly 
place.' 

(3)  What  had  been  summarily  realized  in 
Christ  is  progressively  realized  in  those  who 
are  'in  Him.'  Undeterred  by  their  condition 
of  moral  and  spiritual  death,  God,  out  of  the 
heart  of  His  rich  mercy,  simply  because  of  the 
great  love  He  bore  to  men,  has  brought  them, 
by  one  act  of  regeneration,  into  the  new  life  of 
His  Son  ;  has  '  quickened  them  together  with 
Christ,'  that  is,  has  introduced  them,  at  a 
definite  moment  of  initiation,  into  the  life  which 
has  once  for  all  triumphed  over  death,  and  been 
glorified  in  the  heavenly  places ;  and  has  intro- 
duced them  into  this  life  in  order  that,  by  the 
gradual  assimilation  of  its  forces,  future  ages 
might  witness  in  them  all  the  wealth  of  the 
goodness  which  had  lain  hid  in  the  original  act 
H  2 


TOO       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

of  incorporation.  Meanwhile,  while  their  growth 
is  yet  imperfect,  God  sees  those  who  are  Christ's 
as  'in  Christ':  imputes  His  merits  to  them,  so 
we  may  legitimately  say :  that  is,  sees  them  and 
deals  with  them  in  view  of  the  fact  that  Christ's 
Spirit  is  at  work  in  them;  sees  them  and 
deals  with  them  *  not  as  they  are,  but  as  they 
are  becoming.'  This  doctrine  of  imputation, 
instead  of  being  full  of  moral  unreality,  is  in 
accordance  with  all  that  is  deepest  in  the  philo- 
sophy of  evolution.  For  are  we  not  continually 
being  taught  that  in  order  to  take  a  true  view  of 
the  value  of  any  single  thing,  we  must  view  it 
not  as  it  is  at  a  particular  moment,  but  in  the 
light  of  its  tendency  ?  We  must  ask  not  merely 
'  what,'  but  '  whence '  and  '  whither.' 

(4)  It  is  all  pure  grace — the  free  outpouring 
of  unmerited  love.  The  Christians  are  '  God's 
workmanship,'  His  new  creation.  He,  in  Christ, 
had  wrought  the  work  all  by  Himself.  They, 
the  subjects  of  it,  had  contributed  nothing.  It 
remained  for  them  only  to  welcome  and  to  cor- 
respond. This  is  the  summing  up  of  man's 
legitimate  attitude  towards  God.  This  is  faith. 
It  is  at  its  first  stage  simply  the  acceptance  of 
a  divine  mercy  in  all  its  undeserved  and  un- 
conditional largeness  ;   but  it  passes  at  once,  as 


The  method  of  redemption         loi 

soon  as  ever  the  nature  of  the  divine  gift  is 
reahzed,  into  a  glad  co-operation  with  the  divine 
purpose. 

This  then  is,  in  outHne,  the  method  of  the 
great  salvation,  of  which  the  Asiatic  Christians 
had  been  and  were  the  subjects. 


I02       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 


DIVISION  I.  §  4.    Chapter  II.  iT-22. 
Salvation  in  the  church. 

God's  deliverance  or  'salvation'  of  mankind 
is  a  deliverance  of  individuals  indeed,  but  of 
individuals  in  and  through  a  society;  not  of 
isolated  individuals,  but  of  members  of  a  body. 

It  is  and  has  been  a  popular  religious  idea 
that  the  primary  aim  of  the  gospel  is  to  pro- 
duce saved  individuals ;  and  that  it  is  a  matter 
of  secondary  importance  that  the  saved  indi- 
viduals should  afterwards  combine  to  form 
churches  for  their  mutual  spiritual  profit,  and 
for  promoting  the  work  of  preaching  the  gospel. 
But  this  way  of  conceiving  the  matter  is  a  re- 
versal of  the  order  of  ideas  in  the  Bible.  '  The 
salvation '  in  the  Bible  is  supposed  usually  '  to 
reach  the  individual  through  the  community  ^' 
God's  dealings  with  us  in  redemption  thus 
follow  the  lines  of  His  dealings  with  us  in 
our    natural  developement.      For  man   stands 

*  Sanday  and  Headlam's  Romans^  pp.  122-124. 


The  salvation  social  103 

out  in  history  as  a  *  social  animal/  His  indi- 
vidual developement,  by  a  divine  law  of  his  con- 
stitution, is  only  rendered  possible  because  he 
is  first  of  all  a  member  of  some  society,  tribe, 
or  nation,  or  state.  Through  membership  in 
such  a  society  alone,  and  through  the  submis- 
sions and  limitations  on  his  personal  liberty 
which  such  membership  involves,  does  he  be- 
come capable  of  any  degree  of  free  or  high 
developement  as  an  individual.  This  law,  then, 
of  man's  nature  appears  equally  in  the  method 
of  his  redemption.  Under  the  old  covenant  it 
was  to  members  of  the  'commonwealth  of 
Israel'  that  the  blessings  of  the  covenant  be- 
longed. Under  the  new  covenant  St.  Paul  still 
conceives  of  the  same  commonwealth  as  sub- 
sisting (as  we  shall  see  directly),  and  as  fulfill- 
ing no  less  than  formerly  the  same  religious 
functions.  True,  it  has  been  fundamentally 
reconstituted  and  enlarged  to  include  the  be- 
lievers of  all  nations,  and  not  merely  one  nation  ; 
but  it  is  still  the  same  commonwealth,  or 
polity,  or  church  ;  and  it  is  still  through  the 
church  that  God's  'covenant'  dealings  reach 
the  individual. 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  St.  Paul  goes  on  to 
describe   the    state    of    the   Asiatic    Christians, 


I04       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

before  their  conversion,  as  a  state  of  alienation 
from  the  '  commonwealth  of  Israel/  They  were 
'  Gentiles  in  the  flesh,'  that  is  by  the  physical 
fact  that  they  were  not  Jews ;  and  were  con- 
temptuously described  as  the  uncircumcised  by 
those  who,  as  Jews,  were  circumcised  by  human 
hands.  And  he  conceives  this  to  be  only 
another  way  of  describing  alienation  from  God 
and  His  manifold  covenants  of  promise,  and 
from  the  Messiah,  the  hope  of  Israel  and  of 
mankind.  They  were  without  the  Church  of 
God,  and  therefore  presumably  without  God 
and  v/ithout  hope. 

Wherefore  remember,  that  aforetime  ye,  the  Gentiles 
in  the  flesh,  who  are  called  Uncircumcision  by  that  which 
is  called  Circumcision,  in  the  flesh,  made  by  hands ;  that 
ye  were  at  that  time  separate  from  Christ,  alienated  from 
the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  and  strangers  from  the 
covenants  of  the  promise,  having  no  hope  and  without 
God  in  the  world.  But  now  in  Christ  Jesus  ye  that  once 
were  far  oft' are  made  nigh  in  the  blood  of  Christ. 

This  alienation  of  Gentiles  from  the  divine 
covenant  was  represented  in  the  structure  of  the 
temple  at  Jerusalem  by  a  beautifully-worked 
marble  balustrade,  separating  the  outer  from 
the  inner  court,  upon  which  stood  columns  at 
regular  intervals,  bearing  inscriptions,  some  in 
Greek  and   some  in  Latin  characters,  to  warn 


The  breaking  dozvri  of  partitions    105 

aliens  not  to  enter  the  holy  place.  One  of  the 
Greek  inscriptions  was  discovered  a  few  years 
ago,  and  is  now  to  be  read  in  the  Museum  of 
Constantinople.  It  runs  thus :  *  No  ahen  to 
pass  within  the  balustrade  round  the  temple  and 
the  enclosure.  Whosoever  shall  be  caught  so 
doing  must  blame  himself  for  the  penalty  of 
death  which  he  will  incur.' 

This  '  middle  wall  of  partition '  was  vividly  in 
St.  Paul's  memory.  He  was  in  prison  at  Rome 
at  the  time  of  his  writing  this  epistle,  in  part  at 
least  because  he  was  believed  to  have  brought 
Trophimus,  an  Ephesian,  within  the  sacred  en- 
closure at  Jerusalem.  '  He  brought  Greeks  also 
into  the  temple,  and  hath  defiled  the  holy  place.' 

It  was  this  'middle  wall  of  partition,'  repre- 
senting the  exclusiveness  of  Jewish  ordinances, 
which  St.  Paul  rejoiced  to  beheve  Christ  had 
abolished.  He  had  made  Jew  and  Gentile  one 
by  bringing  both  ahke  to  God  in  one  body  and 
on  a  new  basis. 

There  were  in  fact  two  partitions  in  the  Jewish 
temple  of  great  symboKcal  importance.  There 
was  the  veil  which  hid  the  holy  of  holies,  and 
symbolized  the  alienation  of  man  from  God  ^ ; 
and   there  was  '  the   middle  wall   of  partition  ' 

'  Hebr.  ix.  8. 


io6       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

already  described,  representing  the  exclusion  of 
the  world  from  the  privileges  of  the  people  of 
God.  The  Pharisaic  Jews  ignored  the  spiritual 
lessons  of  the  first  partition,  and  devoutly  be- 
lieved in  the  permanence  of  the  second.  But 
Saul,  while  yet  a  Pharisee,  had  felt  the  reality 
of  the  first,  and  had  found  in  his  own  experience 
that  the  abolition  of  this  first  barrier  by  Christ 
involved  also  the  annihilation  of  the  second. 

It  is  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians  that  he 
lays  stress  upon  the  abolition  in  Christ  of  the 
/  enmity  between  man  and  God.  '  It  was  the 
good  pleasure  of  the  Father  .  .  .  through  him  to 
reconcile  all  things  unto  himself,  having  made 
peace  through  the  blood  of  his  cross.'  '  You, 
being  dead  through  your  trespasses  and  the 
uncircumcision  of  your  flesh  .  .  .  did  he  quicken 
together  with  Christ,  having  forgiven  us  all  our 
trespasses ;  having  blotted  out  the  bond  written 
in  ordinances  that  was  against  us,  which  was 
contrary  to  us  :  and  he  hath  taken  it  out  of  the 
way,  nailing  it  to  the  cross.'  So  with  the  help 
of  various  metaphors  does  St.  Paul  strive  to 
express  the  mighty  truth  that,  by  the  shedding 
of  Christ's  blood,  that  is  to  say  by  His  sacrifice 
of  perfected  obedience,  the  way  had  been  opened 
for  the  forgiveness  of  our  sins  and  our  recon- 


The  breaking  dozvn  of  partitions   107 

ciliation  to  God  in  one  life,  one  Spirit.  But 
the  symbols  and  instruments  of  that  former 
ahenation  from  God  which  St.  Paul  had  expe- 
rienced so  bitterly,  were  to  his  mind  the  '  ordin- 
ances'  of  the  Jewish  law.  These,  he  had  come 
to  feel,  had  no  other  function  than  to  awaken  and 
deepen  the  sense  of  sin  which  they  were  power- 
less to  overcome.  They  were  nothing  but  '  a 
bond  written  against  us ' ;  a  continual  record  of 
condemnation.  To  trust  in  the  observance  of 
ordinances  was  to  remain  an  unreconciled  sinner, 
alienated  in  mind  and  unpurified  in  heart.  On 
the  other  hand,  to  have  faith  in  Jesus  and 
receive  from  Him  the  unmerited  gift  of  the 
divine  pardon  and  the  Spirit  of  sonship  was,  for 
a  Jew,  to  cast  away  all  that  trust  in  the  obser- 
vance of  the  ordinances  of  his  nation  which 
was  so  dear  to  his  heart.  It  was  at  once  to 
place  himself  among  the  sinners  of  the  Gentiles. 
For  in  Jesus  Christ  all  men  were  indeed  brought 
near  to  God,  but  not  as  meritorious  Jews; 
rather  as  com.mon  men  and  common  sinners, 
needing  and  accepting  all  alike  the  undeserved 
mercy  of  a  heavenly  Father.  Thus  it  was  that 
Christ,  in  breaking  down  one  partition,  had 
broken  down  the  other  also.  In  opening  the 
way   to   God   by  a  simple   human   trust   in   a 


io8       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

heavenly  Father,  and  not  by  the  comphcated 
arrangements  of  a  special  law,  He  had  put  all  men 
on  the  same  level  of  need  and  of  acceptance. 
He  had  not  indeed  abolished  the  covenant  or 
the  covenant  people,  but  He  had  enlarged  its 
area  and  altered  its  basis :  there  was  still  to  be 
one  visible  body  or  people  of  the  covenant,  but 
membership  in  it  was  to  be  open  to  all,  Jew  and 
Gentile  ahke,  who  would  feel  their  need  of  and 
put  their  trust  in  Jesus.  This  is  what  St.  Paul 
proceeds  to  express,  and  httle  more  need  be 
added  to  explain  his  words.  In  the  'blood' 
or  '  blood-shedding'  of  Jesus— that  is.  His  self- 
sacrifice  for  men,  His  obedience  carried  to  the 
point  of  the  surrender  of  His  life— a  way  had 
been  opened  to  the  Father  that  was  purely 
human,  that  belonged  to  the  Gentiles  who  had 
been  'far  off'  as  well  as  to  Jews  who  were 
already  'nigh'  in  the  divine  covenant.  And  in 
being  brought  near  to  God  by  faith,  and  not  by 
Jewish  ordinances,  Jew  and  Gentile  had  been 
reconciled  on  a  common  basis — the  two  had 
been  made  one  in  '  the  flesh,'  that  is,  the  man- 
hood of  Christ,  for  no  other  reason  than  because 
the  '  law  of  commandments  contained  in  (special 
Jewish)  ordinances,'  which  had  hitherto  been 
the  basis  of  separation,  was  now  once  for  all 


The  admission  of  Gentiles         109 

*  abolished.'  Henceforth  there  was  one  new 
man,  or  new  manhood,  in  Christ,  in  which 
all  men  were,  potentially  at  least,  reconciled  to 
God  and  to  one  another  by  His  self-sacrifice 
upon  the  cross.  And  to  the  knowledge  of  this 
new  manhood  all  men  were  being  gradually 
brought  by  the  '  preaching  of  peace '  or  of  the 
gospel,  which  had  its  origin  from  Jesus  cruci- 
fied and  risen,  and  which,  even  now  that  Jesus 
was  invisibly  acting  through  His  apostolic  and 
other  ministers,  St.  Paul  attributes  directly  to 
Him. 

But  now  in  Christ  Jesus  ye  that  once  were  far  off 
are  made  nigh  in  the  blood  of  Christ.  For  he  is  our 
peace,  who  made  both  one,  and  brake  down  the  middle 
wall  of  partition,  having  abolished  in  his  flesh  the  enmity, 
even  the  law  of  commandments  contained  in  ordinances ; 
that  he  might  create  in  himself  of  the  twain  one  new  man, 
so  making  peace;  and  might  reconcile  them  both  in  one 
body  unto  God  through  the  cross,  having  slain  the  enmity 
thereby:  and  he  came  and  preached  peace  to  you  that  were 
far  off,  and  peace  to  them  that  were  nigh  :  for  through  him 
we  both  have  our  access  in  one  Spirit  unto  the  Father. 

Now  we  can  turn  from  the  negative  to  the 
positive  statement,  and  observe  what  St.  Paul 
says  of  the  new  privileges  of  the  once  heathen 
converts.  He  pictures  them  under  four  meta- 
phors, each  describing  a  social  state. 


Xyv^^^^io       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

(i)  They  are  citizens  in  the  holy  state,  the 
commonwealth  of  the  people  consecrated  to 
God— citizens  with  full  rights,  and  no  longer 
strangers  or  unenfranchised  residents  (so- 
journers). 

(2)  More  intimately  still,  they  belong  to  the 
family  or  household  of  God. 

(3)  They  are  being  built  all  together  into  a 
sanctuary  for  God  to  dwell  in — a  holy  structure 
of  which  the  foundation  stones  are  the  apostles, 
and  the  Christian  prophets  who  were  their  com- 
panions; and  of  which  the  corner-stone,  deter- 
mining the  lines  of  the  building  and  com- 
pacting it  into  one,  is  Jesus  Christ,  according  to 
the  word  of  God  by  Isaiah,  *  Behold  I  lay  in 
Zion  for  a  foundation  stone,  a  tried  stone,  a  pre- 
cious corner  stone  of  sure  foundation.' 

(4)  But  the  metaphor  of  the  building  passes 
into  the  metaphor  of  the  growing  plant.  Christ 
is,  as  St.  Peter  says,  ' a  living  stone ^'  He  not 
only  determines  the  lines  of  the  spiritual  struc- 
ture, but  He  pervades  the  whole  of  it  as  a 
presence  and  spirit,  so  that  every  other  human 
*  stone '  is  also  alive  and  growing  with  His  hfe. 

So  then  ye  are  no  more  strangers  and  sojourners,  but 
ye  are  fellow-c.t'zens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the  house- 

*  I  Peter  ii.  4. 


The  catholic  church  ^iii^  ' 

hold  of  God,  being  built  upon  the  foundation  of  the 
apostles  and  prophets,  Christ  Jesus  himself  being  the 
chief  corner  stone  ;  in  whom  each  several  building,  fitly 
framed  together,  groweth  into  a  holy  temple  in  the  Lord  ; 
in  whom  ye  also  are  builded  together  for  a  habitation  of 
God  in  the  Spirit. 

These  are  indeed  metaphors  expressive  of  glo- 
rious reaHties,which  have  no  doubt  become  dulled 
in  meaning  through  a  conventional  Christianity, 
which  involves  no  sacrifice  and  therefore  attains 
no  sense  of  blessedness,  but  which  a  httle 
meditation  may  easily  restore  to  something  of 
their  original  freshness. 

(i)  The  idea  of  the  chosen  people  all  through 
the  Old  Testament  is  that  they  are  as  a  whole 
consecrated  to  God.  Priests  and  kings  appointed 
by  God  to  their  several  offices  may  indeed  fulfil 
special  functions  in  the  national  life,  yet  the 
fundamental  idea  is  never  lost  that  the  entire 
nation  is  holy,  *  a  kingdom  of  priests.'  It  is 
because  this  is  true  that  the  prophets  can  appeal 
as  they  do  to  the  people  in  general,  as  well  as  to 
priests  and  rulers,  as  sharing  altogether  the  re- 
sponsibiHty  of  the  national  hfe.  Now  the  whole 
of  this  idea  is  transferred,  only  deepened  and  in- 
tensified, to  the  Christian  Church.  That  too 
has  its  divinely-ordained  ministers,  its  differentia- 
tion of  functions  in  the  one  body,  but  the  whole 


f 


112       77?^  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

body  is  priestly,  and  all  are  citizens — not  merely 
Fesidents  but  citizens,  that  is.  Intelligent  partici- 
pators in  a  common  corporate  life  consecrated 
to  God.,  How  truly  realized  this  idea  was~Irr  the 
early  Christian  communities,  St.  Paul's  letters 
are  our  best  witnesses.  They  are  really — except 
the  pastoral  epistles — letters  to  the  churches 
and  not  to  the  clergy.  It  is  the  whole  body 
which  is  at  Thessalonica  and  Corinth  to  concern 
itself  with  the  exercise  of  moral  discipline  ^ — the 
Avhole  body  in  the  Galatian  churches  and  at 
IColossae  who  are  to  concern  themselves  with  the 
apprehension  and  protection  of  the  full  Christian 
truth.  They^are  all  to  be  '  perfectly  initiated  '  in 
Christ  Jesus,  full  participators  in  the  affairs  of 
the  divine  society^.  Whatever  needs  to  be  said 
afterwards  about  the  special  functions  of  special 
officers,  this  is  the  first  thing  to  be  said  and 
recognized ;  and  it  gives  us  a  profound  sense  of 
the  distance  we  have  fallen  from  our  ideal.  The 
laity,  it  is  generally  understood  among  us,  are 
to  come  to  church  and  perhaps  to  communion, 
are  to  accept  the  ministries  of  religion  at  mar- 
riages and  funerals,  and  are  to  subscribe  a  little 
money  to  rehgious  objects ;  but  they  may  leave 
it  to  the  clergy,  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  carry  on 

^  I  Thess.  V.  14;  I  Cor.  v.-vi.  11.  "^  Col.  i.  28. 


The  catholic  church  113 

the  business  of  religion — that  is,  worship  and 
doctrine,  for  discipline  has  been  dropped  out — 
and  confine  themselves  to  a  certain  amount  of 
irresponsible  criticism  of  the  sermons  of  the 
clergy  and  their  proceedings  generally.  ^j 

For  this  state  of  things — this  very  false  sacer- 
dotalism— the  responsibility  is  generally  laid  at 
the  door  of  *  clerical  arrogance/  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  consider  how  large  a  factor  in  the  result 
clerical  arrogance  has  really  been,  for  certainly 
what  alone  has  given  the  clergy  the  opportunity 
to  put  themselves  in  false  isolation,  and  what 
has  been  an  immensely  more  powerful  factor  in 
the  general  result,  has  been  the  spiritual  ?pathy 
of  the  mass  of  church  members,  an  apathy  which 
began  as  soon  as  the  Christian  profession  began 
to  cost  men  little  or  nothing. 

Are  we  to  set  to  work  to  revive  St.  Paul's 
ideal  of  the  life  of  a  Church  ?  If  so,  what  we 
need  is  not  more  Christians,  but  better  Chris- 
tians. We  want  to  make  the  moral  meaning  of 
church  membership  understood  and  its  condi- 
tions appreciated.  We  want  to  make  men 
understand  that  it  costs  something  to  be  a 
Christian ;  that,  to  be  a  Christian,  that  is  a  Church- 
man, is  to  be  an  intelligent  participator  in  a 
corporate  life  consecrated  to  God,  and  to  concern 

I 


114       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

oneself  therefore,  as  a  matter  of  course,  in  all 
that  touches  the  corporate  life— its  external  as 
well  as  its  spiritual  conditions.  For  the  houses 
people  live  in,  their  wages,  their  social  and  com- 
mercial relations  to  one  another,  their  amuse- 
ments, the  education  they  receive,  the  literature 
they  read,  these,  no  less  truly  than  religious 
forces  strictly  so  called,  affect  intimately  the 
health  and  well-being  of  any  society  of  men. 
We  Christians  are  fellow-citizens  together  in 
the  commonwealth  that  is  consecrated  to  God, 
a  commonwealth  of  mortal  men  with  bodies  as 
well  as  souls. 

(2)  But  St.  Paul  also  describes  the  Church  as 
the  ^  household  of  God.'  When  our  Lord  was 
speaking  to  St.  Peter  about  the  ministry  which 
was  being  entrusted  to  the  apostles,  He  said  to 
him,  '  Who  then  is  the  faithful  and  wise  steward 
whom  his  Lord  shall  set  over  his  household  to 
give  them  their  portion  of  food  in  due  season  ^  ? ' 
This  description  opens  to  us  part  of  the  mean- 
ing of  the  divine  household.  A  household  is  a 
place  where  a  family  is  provided  for,  where  there 
is  a  r- j^ular  and  orderly  supply  of  ordinary 
needs.  And  the  Church  is  the  divine  household 
in  which  God  has  provided  stewards  to  make 

^  Luke  xii.  4a. 


The  catholic  church  115 

regular  spiritual  provision  for  men,  so  that  they 
shall  feel  and  know  themselves  members  of  a 
family,  understood,  sympathized  with,  helped, 
encouraged,  disciplined,  fed.  What  in  fact  are 
the  sacraments  and  sacramental  rites,  what  are 
baptism,  confirmation  and  communion,  marriage 
and  ordination,  the  administration  of  the  word  of 
God,  the  dealings  with  the  penitent,  the  sick,  the 
dead,  but  the  ^  portions  of  food  in  due  season,' 
the  orderly  distribution  of  the  bread  of  life  in 
the  family  or  household  of  God  ? 

But  there  is  another  idea  which,  in  St.  Paul's 
mind,  attaches  itself  strongly  to  the  idea  of  the 
*  divine  family/  It  is  that  in  this  household  we 
are  sons  and  not  servants — that  is  intelligent  co- 
operators  with  God,  and  not  merely  submissive 
slaves.  It  is  noticeable  how  often  he  speaks 
with  horror  of  Christians  allowing  themselves 
again  to  be  'subject  to  ordinances,'  or  to  Uhe 
weak  and  beggarly  rudiments,'  the  alphabet  of 
that  earlier  education  when  even  children  are 
treated  as  slaves  under  mere  obedience.  '  Ye 
observe  days,  and  months,  and  seasons,  and  years. 
I  am  afraid  of  you  \'  '  Why  do  ye  subject  your- 
selves to  ordinances,  handle  not,  taste  not,  touch 
not  I'     It    is   perfectly  true   to    say  that  what 

^  Gal.  iv.  n  :  v.  i.  *  Col.  ii.  20-23. 


ii6       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

St.  Paul  is  deprecating  is  a  return  to  Jewish  or 
pagan  observances.  But  this  is  not  all.  He 
demands  not  a  change  of  observance  only,  but 
a  change  of  spirit.  Their  attitude  towards 
observances  as  such  is  to  be  different.  Not  that 
St.  Paul  does  not  insist  on  that  readiness  to  obey 
reasonable  authority  which  is  a  condition  of  cor- 
porate life,  or  would  hesitate  to  lay  stress  upon 
corporate  religious  acts  in  the  Christian  body. 
The  truth  is  very  far  from  that.  *  We  have  no  such 
custom,  neither  the  churches  of  God,'  is  an  argu- 
ment which  ought  to  be  sufficient  to  suppress 
eccentricity.  To  *  keep  the  traditions  '  is  a  mark 
of  a  good  Christian  ^  '  A  man  that  is  heretical ' 
(or  rather  '  factious ')  after  the  first  and  second 
admonition  is  to  be  *  refused  '  '^.  Government  is 
to  be  a  constant  element  in  the  Christian  life. 
But  the  character  of  authority  and  of  obedience  is 
to  be  changed.  The  authority  is  to  be  reasonable 
authority,  and  the  obedience  intelligent  obedi- 
ence. Passive  obedience  to  an  authority  which 
does  not  explain  itself,  whether  in  a  spiritual 
director  or  in  the  Church  as  a  whole,  St.  Paul 
would  have  thought  of  meanly  as  a  Christian 
virtue.  And  the  multiplication  of  authoritative 
observances  he  would  have  dreaded  as  a  bond- 

^  I  Cor.  xi.  3,  i6.  '  Tit.  iii.  lo. 


The  catholic  church  117 

age.  Our  Lord  was  very  unwilling  to  give  His 
disciples,  when  He  was  on  earth,  much  direction. 
And  St.  Paul  is  true  to  his  Master's  spirit.  Our 
life  should  be  ordered  by  principles,  rather  than 
directed  in  detail.  For  to  rely  upon  direction 
from  outside  dwarfs  our  sense  of  personal  re- 
sponsibility, and  personal  relationship  to  the 
divine  Spirit.  A  certain  amount  of  confusion, 
hesitation,  difference,  due  to  men  feeling  their 
way,  due  to  their  different  individualities  having 
free  scope,  St.  Paul  would  apparently  have 
thought  preferable  to  that  sort  of  order  which 
is  the  product  of  a  very  strong  and  exacting 
external  government,  and  to  an  undue  exaltation 
of  the  virtue  of  passive  obedience. 

(3)  St.  Paul  describes  the  Church  as  a  sanc- 
tuary which  is  gradually  to  be  built  for  God  to 
dwell  in.  We  remember  how  our  Lord  had  said 
of  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  'Destroy  this  temple, 
and  in  three  days  I  will  raise  it  up.'  '  He  spake,' 
St.  John  explains,  'of  the  temple  of  his  body  ^' 
That — His  own  humanity  proved  triumphant 
over  death — was  to  be  henceforth  the  taber- 
nacle of  God's  presence  among  men.  Where 
that  is  God  is,  and  the  true  worship  of  the  Father 
in  spirit  and  in  truth.   But  that  body,  raised  again 

^  John  ii.  19-21. 


ii8       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

the  third  day  and  become  'quickening  Spirit' 
as  the  body  of  the  risen  Christ,  takes  within  its 
influence  the  whole  circle  of  believers.  The 
'body  of  Christ/. which  is  God's  temple,  comes 
to  mean  the  Church  which  lives  in  Christ's  life, 
and  worships  in  Christ's  Spirit.  This  is  still  the 
Church  of  the  fathers  of  the  old  covenant,  but 
fundamentally  reconstituted.  God,  as  St.  James 
perceived  ^  was  fulfilling  His  promise  to  '  build 
again  the  tabernacle  of  David  which  had  fallen.'  It 
was  being  built  anew  upon  the  apostles  and  their 
companions  the  prophets,  the  immediate  ambas- 
sadors of  Christ,  as  foundation-stones  of  the 
renewed  building,  who  themselves  have  their 
positions  determined  and  secured  by  Christ 
Jesus  as  chief  corner-stone.  It  was  a  spiritual 
fabric  combining,  like  a  Gothic  cathedral,  various 
parts  or  '  several  buildings,'  with  their  distinctive 
characteristics,  all  however  united  in  one  con- 
struction, one  great  sanctuary  of  a  redeemed 
humanity  in  which  God  dwells. 

The  metaphor  suggests  the  combination  of 
national  and  individual  differences  in  real  unity. 
It  encourages  us  to  pay  due  regard  to  the  free 
developement  of  our  own  characters  and  capa- 
cities, but  also  to  develope  ourselves  as  parts  of 

^  Acts  XV.  i6. 


The  catholic  church  119 

a  greater  whole,  always  remembering  that  the 
work  of  a  Christian  individual  or  a  local  church 
is  in  God's  sight  measured,  not  by  its  isolated 
result,  but  by  the  contribution  it  makes  to  the 
life  of  the  whole  body.  An  eccentric  indivi- 
duality, a  schismatic  developement  is,  even  in 
proportion  to  its  strength,  a  source  of  weakness 
to  the  whole.  By  its  relation  to  the  whole  life 
of  the  Church  all  Christian  effort  must  be  both 
invigorated  and  restrained. 

The  metaphor  suggests  further  that  the  social 
organization  of  the  Church  is  an  organization  , 

for  worship.     It  is  a  house  and  a  citizenship,       x^sjof^ 


K 


because  it  is  also  a  sanctuary.  The  strength  of 
corporate  Christianity  is  to  be  measured  by  the  ^^*^ 
vitality  of  corporate  worship.  A  church  hfe  in 
which  the  eucharist  is  not  the  centre,  for  all  the 
vigour  which  it  may  show  in  learning,  or 
preaching,  or  philanthropy,  is  after  all  but  a 
maimed  life. 

(4)  But  the  Church,  as  a  visible  organization 
of  men,  can  be  what  it  is — the  city  of  God,  His 
household  and  His  sanctuary  — only  because  it 
is  pervaded  by  Christ's  life  and  spirit.  The 
'stones  of  the  building'  are  not  merely  placed 
side  by  side  of  one  another,  or  held  together 
by  any  external   agency  of  government;   they 


I20       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

are  as  branches  of  a  living  tree,  limbs  of  a  living 
body.  In  this  recurrent  thought,  which  will  be 
presented  to  us  in  another  form  when  St.  Paul 
comes  to  speak  of  the  head  and  the  body,  is  the 
interpretation  of  all  his  theory  of  the  Church, 
It  is  verily  and  indeed  the  extension  of  the  life 
of  Christ. 

How  are  we  to  receive  this  great  and  mani- 
fold ideal  of  what  the  Church  means  ^?  It  is  by 
meditating  upon  it  till  St.  Paul's  conceptions — 
and  not  any  lower  or  narrower  ones,  Roman  or 
Anglican  or  Nonconformist — become  vivid  to 
our  minds.  Then,  knowing  what  we  aim  at 
restoring,  we  shall  seek,  in  each  parish  and 
ecclesiastical  centre,  to  concentrate  almost  more 
than  to  extend  the  Church,  to  give  it  spiritual, 
moral,  and  social  reality,  rather  than  to  multiply 
a  membership  which  means  little.  For  if  men 
can  understand  the  meaning  of  the  Church,  as 
the  cit}^  of  God,  the  family  of  God,  the  sanctuary 
of  God,  in  the  world,  there  is  little  fear  that 
whatever  is  good  in  humanity  will  fail  of  alle- 
giance to  her.  The  kings  of  the  earth  will  bring 
their  glory  and  honour  into  her,  and  the  nations 
of  the  earth  shall  walk  in  her  light. 

^  See  app.  note  D,  p.  264,  on  the  Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew. 


Paul  the  apostle  of  cat  hoi  icily      121 


DIVISION  I.  §  5.     Chapter  III. 

Paul  the  apostle  of  catholicity. 

St.  Paul  has  unfolded  the  dimensions  of  the 
revelation  of  God  given  in  the  catholic  church. 
The  interests  of  the  whole  of  mankind  and  of 
the  whole  universe  which  it  is  to  subserve — 
that  is  its  breadth :  the  eternal  and  slowly 
realized  intention  of  God  of  which  it  is  the 
expression— that  is  its  length :  the  spiritual 
elevation  up  to  which  it  takes  men — that  is  its 
height :  the  gulf  of  sin  and  misery  from  which 
it  rescues  them — that  is  its  depth.  And  now  he 
is  about  to  press  upon  the  Asiatic  Christians 
the  moral  obligations  which  this  great  catholic 
brotherhood  involves.  He  begins  his  exhorta- 
tion and  enforces  it  by  reminding  them  of  what 
he  was  enduring  as  a  prisoner  for  Christ's  sake 
—^  For  this  cause  (i.  e.  seeing  that  all  this  is 
true),  I,  Paul,  the  prisoner  of  Christ  Jesus  in 
behalf  of  you,  the  Gentiles.'  But  when  he  has 
thus  made  a  beginning,  he  pauses  to  add  weight 


122 


The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 


to  his  appeal  by  emphasizing  a  personal  but 
very  important  consideration.  The  particular 
truth  of  the  catholicity  of  the  Church  had  been 
in  quite  a  special  sense  entrusted  to  him,  Paul, 
personally,  as  apostle  of  the  Gentiles.  He 
assumes  that  they  have  heard  of  this,  his  special 
commission,  and  that  it  was  the  subject  of  a 
special  revelation  to  himself  ^  Indeed  the  fact 
must  have  formed  part  of  his  teaching  at 
Ephesus  and  throughout  Asia,  for  his  mind  was 
full  of  it;  he  had  contended  for  it  against  strong 
opposition  in  his  epistle  to  the  Galatians^;  he 
had  asserted  it  in  his  speech  on  the  occasion 
of  his  being  made  a  prisoner  at  Jerusalem: 
and  he  had  quite  recently  explained  it  '  in  brief 
compass'  in  the  letter  to  the  Colossians  which 
was  intended  to  have,  in  part  at  least,  the  same 
readers  as  his  present  epistle^.  This  special 
revelation  then  and  accompanying  commission 
justifies  him  in  particular,  and  more  than  any  of 

^  Acts  xxii.  17-21.  'While  I  prayed  in  the  temple,  I  fell  into 
a  trance,  and  saw  him  saying  unto  me,  Make  haste,  and  get  thee 
quickly  out  of  Jerusalem.  .  .  .  Depart :  for  I  will  send  thee  forth 
far  hence  unto  the  Gentiles.' 

^  Gal.  i.  15.  '  It  was  the  good  pleasure  of  God,  who  separated 
me,  even  from  my  mother's  womb,  and  called  me  through  his 
grace,  to  reveal  his  Son  in  me,  that  I  might  preach  him  among  the 
Gentiles.' 

^  Col.  i.  24-29;  iv.  3,  4. 


The  diffiailty  of  catholicity         123 

the  other  apostles,  in  pressing  upon  his  converts 
the  doctrine  which  forms  the  special  topic  of 
this  epistle. 

But  to  think  of  his  special  office  as  apostle  of 
a  catholic  society,  is  to  think  also  of  its  extra- 
ordinary difficulty. 

When  we  set  ourselves  in  our  own  later  age 
to  rehabihtate  the  sense  of  church  membership, 
we  feel  at  once  the  strength  of  the  forces  against 
us ;  we  reahze  how  much  the  feeling  of  blood- 
kinship  in  the  family  counts  for,  or  the  wider 
kinship  of  national  life,  or  the  common  interests 
of  our  professions  or  our  classes,  compared  to 
the  feeble  sense  of  fellowship  which  comes  from 
a  church  membership  which  is  so  largely  con- 
ventional. Most  assuredly  we  feel  the  difficulty 
of  what  we  have  in  hand.  But  we  cannot 
feel  it  more  intensely  than  St.  Paul  felt  the 
difficulty  involved  in  the  very  idea  of  a  human 
brotherhood  in  which  national  distinctions  were 
obhterated.  After  all,  the  degree  of  unity  im- 
pressed by  the  Roman  Empire  upon  the  different 
nations  it  embraced  was  superficial.  On  the 
whole  it  left  men  to  walk  in  their  own  ways. 
In  particular  it  did  not  succeed  in  breaking 
down  the  barriers  of  Jewish  isolation.  A  society 
in  which  men  should  be  neither  Jews  nor  Gen- 


124       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

tiles,  Greeks  nor  barbarians,  bond  nor  free,  but 
all  should  be  welded  into  one  manhood  by  the 
pressure  of  a  common  and  constraining  bond 
of  brotherhood— a  society  in  which  even  the 
savage  and  brutal  Scythian  should  have  equal 
fellowship  with  Greeks  and  Jews  ^ — represented 
what  had  never  yet  been  accomplished,  and  what 
the  most  sanguine  might  reasonably  have  thought 
impossible.  The  history  of  the  Church,  though 
not  yet  much  more  than  thirty  years  old,  had 
served  already  to  emphasize  the  difficulty  of  the 
undertaking.  We  read  the  record  of  the  first 
Jerusalem  Church  with  its  communism  of  love 
and  sympathy,  and  it  seems  the  perfect  realiza- 
tion of  the  Christian  spirit  of  brotherhood.  So 
it  was,  but  under  comparatively  easy  conditions. 
For  all  that  community  were  Jews  with  common 
traditions,  sympathies,  habits,  ways  of  looking 
at  things.  They  could  behave  as  brethren,  in 
the  glow  of  their  fresh  enthusiasm  at  finding 
that  the  long-expected  kingdom  of  Christ  was 
now  an  actual  fact,  and  its  triumph  to  be  imme- 
diately expected,  without  any  real  bridging  of 
the  gulfs  which  yawn  between  different  sorts 
of  men.  That  these  gulfs  still  remained  to  be 
bridged  soon  appeared.    It  became  manifest  that 

*  Col.  iii.  II. 


The  difficulty  of  catholicity        125 

Gentiles,  'sinners  of  the  Gentiles/  had  to  be 
received  into  Christian  brotherhood  upon  equal 
terms,  and  without  their  accepting  the  Jewish 
law  and  customs.  The  Council  at  Jerusalem 
attempted  a  compromise  by  requiring  of  the 
Gentile  converts  certain  accommodations  to 
Jewish  manners.  But  the  compromise  did  not 
avail  to  overcome  the  difficulty.  St.  Paul  found 
the  centre  of  opposition  to  the  equal  admission 
of  the  Gentiles  in  that  ver}^  Church  of  Jerusalem 
which  had  been  previously  foremost  in  the  race 
of  love.  In  fact,  the  true  difficulty  of  the  law 
of  brotherhood  only  then  appeared  when  the 
obligation  to  fuse  inveterate  national  distinc- 
tions began  to  be  enforced.  Then  indeed  flesh 
and  blood  rebelled.  Without  going  any  further 
than  this  single  piece  of  Christian  experience, 
there  is  every  reason  why  St.  John  should 
warn  Christians  that  the  old  commandment,  'ye 
shall  love  one  another,'  is  constantly,  with  every 
change  of  circumstance,  becoming  'a  new  com- 
mandment,' involving  new  difficulties,  and  chal- 
lenging afresh  the  efforts  of  the  human  willV 
The  same  difficulty,  only  in  a  less  acute  form,  is 
in  St.  Paul's  mind,  and  makes  him  measure  and 
weigh  his  words,  when  he  writes  to  Philemon 

*   1  John  ii.  7,  8. 


126       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

to  beg  him  to  receive  his  former  runaway  slave, 
*  no  longer  as  a  slave,  but  as  a  brother  beloved  \' 

And  we  cannot  but  pause  and  ask,  in  view 
of  all  the  moral  discipline  for  men  of  various 
kinds  which  St.  Paul  sees  to  be  involved  in  the 
simple  obligation  to  belong  to  one  Christian 
body^, — what  would  have  been  his  feelings  if  he 
had  heard  of  the  doctrine  which  cuts  at  the  root 
of  all  this  discipline  by  declaring  that  religion  is 
only  concerned  with  the  relation  of  the  soul  to 
God,  and  that  Christians  may  combine  as  they 
please  in  as  many  religious  bodies  as  suits  their 
varying  tastes  ? 

This  difficulty  in  the  very  idea  of  a  catholic 
brotherhood  of  men  explains  the  extraordinary 
earnestness  with  which  St.  Paul  proceeds  to 
emphasize  that  indeed  this,  and  nothing  less 
than  this,  is  the  divine  mystery  (or  *  secret '), 
which,  held  back  from  all  eternity  in  the  mind 
of  God,  was  only  now  being  disclosed  through 
Christ's  consecrated  messengers,  and  specially 
through  St.  Paul  himself,  the  apostle  of  the 
Gentiles.  The  incredible  nature  of  the  idea 
clogs  St.  Paul's  language,  and  almost  makes 
shipwreck  of  his  grammar.  All  the  depth  of 
Christian  doctrine  is  necessary  as  background 

^  Phil.  i6.  '  Eph.  iv.  1-3. 


The  difficulty  of  catholicity         127 

to  recommend  and  justify  this  otherwise  entirely 
'supernatural'  ideal — this  marvellous  climax  of 
the  workings  and  revelations  of  God.  The 
spectacle  of  a  catholic  brotherhood,  with  all 
that  it  promises  of  universal  unity  beyond  itself, 
is  a  lesson  even  to  the  angels  of  what  the  mani- 
fold wisdom  of  God  can  conceive  and  accom- 
plish. 

We  have  got  into  a  habit  of  talking  about  the 
'  brotherhood  of  man '  as  if  it  was  an  easy  and 
obvious  truth.  All  our  experience  of  our  English 
relations  with  races  of  a  different  colour  to  our 
own,  nay,  all  our  experience  of  class  divisions 
at  home,  might  have  served  to  check  this  easy- 
going sort  of  language.  If  we  will  consent  to 
pause  and  reflect  on  the  actual  difficulty  of 
behaving  or  feeling  as  brethren  should  behave 
and  feel  towards  men  of  other  races  and  of 
other  educations  and  habits  than  our  own,  we 
may  be  more  inclined  to  believe  that  it  is  only 
through  some  fundamental  eradication  of  selfish- 
ness and  inherent  narrowness  that  it  can  be 
made  possible  ;  ojilx^dien_we  begin  to  live  from 
some  centre  greater  than  ourselves.  And  that 
is  the  moral  meaning  of  the  constant  doctrine 
of  the  New  Testament,  that  only  through  being 
reconciled  to  God  can  we  be  reconciled  to  one 


128       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephestans 

another — only  in  Christ  that  men  can  perma- 
nently and  satisfactorily  learn  to  love  one 
another,  when  racial  and  educational  and  per- 
sonal antipathies  make  for  separation  and  not 
for  unity. 

Now  perhaps  we  are  in  a  position  to  read 
with  greater  intelligence  what  St.  Paul  wrote 
about  'the  dispensation  of  the  divine  mystery/ 
i.  e.  '  the  stewardship  of  the  divine  secret,'  of  the 
brotherhood  of  all  men  in  Christ  or  the  catho- 
licity of  the  Church,  which  had  been  committed 
to  him  by  the  '  revelation '  which  followed  his 
conversion  to  Christ  ^. 

The  doctrine  of  the  brotherhood  of  men  is 
in  fact  as  much  a  peculiarly  Christian  doctrine 
as  that  of  divine  sonship,  and  both  ahke  are, 
in  the  New  Testament  language,  represented 
as  realized  only  within  the  community  of  the 
baptized.  The  facts  of  New  Testament  language 
compel  us  to  say  and  to  recognize  this^.     But 

*  Acts  xxii.  21  ;  xxvi.  17,  18. 

^  Thus  the  limitation  of  the  term  'brotherhood'  to  Christians  is 
implied  in  i  Pet.  ii.  17,  'Honour  all  men.  Love  the  brother- 
hood;' and  in  2  Pet.  i.  7,  *  In  your  love  of  the  brethren  supply 
love '  (i.  e.  in  the  narrower  and  closer  circle  of  believers,  learn  the 
wider  and  all  embracing  attitude  towards  men  as  men) ;  and  in 
I  Cor.  v.  II,  'Any  man  that  is  named  a  brother.'  The  word 
brother  is  throughout  the  New  Testament  used  of  Chnstians 
only,  except  where,  in  the  Acts,   it  is  used  by  Jews   of  Jews. 


Paul  the  apostle  of  catholicity     129 

we  are  bound  to  recognize  also  that  they  are 
truths  which,  when  they  are  heard,  are  welcomed 
by  the  natural  conscience  everywhere.  For  as 
all  men  are  'God's  offspring','  by  the  very  fact 
of  their  creation  as  men,  so  they  are  fitted  to 
receive  the  privilege  of  sonship  :  and  as  they 
are  *  made  of  one  ^,'  so  they  are  fitted  to  realize 
the  privilege  of  brotherhood.  It  is  but  to  say 
the  same  thing  in  other  words,  if  we  insist  that 
Christians  are  the  elect  body,  to  realize  and 
express  among  men  an  idea  of  human  nature 
which  is  the  only  true  idea,  and  which,  over- 
laid and  forgotten  as  it  may  have  been,  has 
never  ceased  to  stir  in  man's  heart  and  con- 
science everywhere.  The  elect  are  elected  for 
no  other  purpose  than  to  make  manifest  what 
all  men  are  capable  of  becoming,  and,  if  they 
will  obey  God,  are  destined  to  become. 

For  this  cause  I  Paul,  the  prisoner  of  Christ  Jesus  in 
behalf  of  you  Gentiles,— if  so  be  that  ye  have  heard  of 
the  dispensation  of  that  grace  of  God  which  was  given 
me  to  you-ward  ;  how  that  bj'  revelation  was  made 
known  unto  me  the  mystery,  as  I  wrote  afore  in  few 
words,  whereby,  when  ye  read,  ye  can  perceive  my 
understanding  in  the  mystery  of  Christ ;  which  in  other 

Our  Lord's  language  about  brotherhood  appHes  to  the  circle 
of  the  disciples,  except  Matt.  xxv.  40,  *  One  of  these  my  brethren,' 
i.  e.  the  wretched. 

^  Acts  xvii.  28.  ^  Acts  xvii.  26, 

K 


130       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

generations  was  not  made  known  unto  the  sons  of  men, 
as  it  hath  now  been  revealed  unto  his  holy  apostles  and 
prophets  in  the  Spirit ;  to  wit,  that  the  Gentiles  are  fellow- 
heirs,  and  fellow-members  of  the  body,  and  fellow- 
partakers  of  the  promise  in  Christ  Jesus  through  the 
gospel,  whereof  I  was  made  a  minister,  according  to 
the  gift  of  that  grace  of  God  which  was  given  me  ac- 
cording to  the  working  of  his  power.  Unto  me,  who 
am  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints,  was  this  grace  given, 
to  preach  unto  the  Gentiles  the  unsearchable  riches 
of  Christ ;  and  to  make  all  men  see  what  is  the  dis- 
pensation of  the  mystery  which  from  all  ages  hath  been 
hid  in  God  who  created  all  things ;  to  the  intent  that 
now  unto  the  principalities  and  the  powers  in  the  heavenly 
places  might  be  made  known  through  the  church  the 
manifold  wisdom  of  God,  according  to  the  eternal  purpose 
which  he  purposed  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord  :  in  whom 
we  have  boldness  and  access  in  confidence  through  our 
faith  in  him.  Wherefore  I  ask  that  ye  faint  not  at  my 
tribulations  for  you,  which  are  your  glory. 

There  are  a  few  points  in  this  passage  which 
still  require  explanation. 

I.  What  is  St.  Paul  referring  to  when  he  says 
'  As  I  wrote  afore  in  few  words  whereby,  when 
ye  read  \  3^6  can  perceive  my  understanding  in 
the  mystery  of  Christ '  or  (if  I  may  venture  to 
retranslate  it)  '  as  I  wrote  before    in  brief,  by 

^  Dr.  Hort  thinks  'read'  is  a  technical  word  for  reading  the 
Scriptures,  and  that  this  reading  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures 
is  to  enable  them  to  appreciate  St.  Paul's  '  understanding  in  the 
secret  of  the  Christ.'  But  I  doubt  if  so  technical  a  use  of  '  read ' 
can  be  made  out. 


Paul  the  apostle  of  catholicity      131 

comparison  with  which,  as  ye  read,  ye  can  per- 
ceive my  understanding  in  the  secret  of  the 
Christ'?  It  is  generally  supposed  that  he  is 
referring  to  the  verses  in  the  first  chapter  of 
this  epistle  (i.  9,  10,  &c.),  in  which  he  speaks  of 
the  'mystery'  or  'secret'  of  the  divine  will  now 
disclosed.  But  his  point  appears  to  be  rather 
that  he  had  elsewhere  written  in  brief  about  his 
own  special  commission  to  preach  the  Gentile 
gospel ;  and  the  more  probable  reference  seems 
to  be  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians  which  was 
written  almost  simultaneously  with  this  epistle, 
probably  just  previously,  and  was  intended  to 
be  read  at  some  at  least,  if  not  all,  of  the  same 
churches  as  this  circular  epistle,  that  is  to  say 
at  Laodicea  and  Colossae  at  least,  and  probably 
more  widely.  In  that  epistle  (i.  25  ff.)  he  had  - 
really  dwelt  on  his  special  commission  in  almost 
the  same  terms  as  here,  and  comparison  with  what 
he  said  there  would  indeed  assist  those  he  was 
now  addressing  to  understand  his  knowledge  in 
the  '  revealed  secret  of  the  Christ.' 

2.  How  can  St.  Paul,  who  insists  continually 
that  he  is  one  of  the  apostles,  call  them,  without 
self-complacency,  God's  holy  apostles?  The 
answer  to  this  is  that  '  holiness '  means  '  conse- 
cration.' Any  one  is  '  holy '  or  a  '  saint '  (the 
K  2 


132       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

same  word)  who  is  consecrated  to  God  in  any 
special  way.  Such  consecration  lays  upon  him 
an  obligation  to  moral  goodness,  which  is  what 
we  mean  by  holiness,  but  it  precedes  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  obligation.  All  Christians  are  holy 
(or  'saints')  because  they  are  Christians,  all 
apostles  because  they  are  apostles.  As  for 
St.  Paul's  personal  estimate  of  himself  as  an 
individual,  we  have  it  just  below.  In  view  of 
his  past  sins,  when  he  was  *  kicking  against  the 
pricks,'  and,  albeit  in  ignorance,  persecuting  the 
Church,  he  calls  himself '  less  than  the  least  of 
all  the  holy.' 

3.  St.  Paul  conceives  his  function  to  be  to 
'  make  men  see,'  or  *  bring  into  the  light '  a  long 
hidden  secret  of  God  now  in  part  disclosed  to 
the  apostles,  and  to  be  by  them  disclosed  to  the 
world — in  part,  for  its  contents  are  still  'unsearch- 
able '  in  their  depth  and  in  the  '  manifoldness ' 
of  divine  wisdom  which  they  imply.  But  what 
is  disclosed  is  no  afterthought  of  God.  It  is  an 
eternal  purpose ;  and  it  is  all  of  a  piece  with  the 
original  idea  of  creation :  it  is  a  '  secret  .  .  . 
hidden  in  God  who  created  all  things.'  Redemp- 
tion in  fact  interprets  to  angels  and  men  what 
God's  purpose  in  creation  originally  was.  To 
minister  to  this   disclosure  is  enough  for  any 


St  Paul's  second  prayer  133 

man.  It  makes  all  St.  Paul's  tribulations  only 
such  as  it  is  worth  while  to  bear ;  and  the 
Gentiles,  in  their  turn,  should  find  their  glory  in 
his  tribulations  as  an  evidence  of  how  much  he 
thought  it  worth  while  to  suffer  in  what  is  their 
cause  no  less  truly  than  his. 

Here,  as  in  the  first  chapter,  the  consideration 
of  the  glory,  and  consequently  the  difficulty,  of 
the  gospel  which  St.  Paul  has  to  deliver  leads 
him  off— just  at  the  point  where  he  seems  to  be 
resuming  the  uncompleted  sentence  with  which 
he  began — into  a  prayer  that  the  Asiatic  Chris- 
tians may  have  strength  given  them  to  apprehend 
the  wealth  of  their  spiritual  position  and  oppor- 
tunity. He  invokes  God  as  the  universal  *  father 
{pater)  from  whom  every  family  {patrid)  —  ^NQxy 
company  of  men  knit  together  by  common  rela- 
tion to  one  father  —  is  named,'  because  this 
has  direct  reference  to  his  purpose.  All  men 
recognize  family,  or  blood  relations  and  obliga- 
tions. St.  Paul  reminds  them  that  every  con- 
ceivable society  on  earth  or  in  heaven  which 
is  bound  by  the  ties  of  a  common  fatherhood, 
derives  its  *  name '  and  therefore  its  significance 
from  a  larger  relationship,  an  all-embracing 
relationship  of  which  these  lower  ones  are  but 
shadows— the  relationship  to  the  one  Father : 


134       ^^^  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

and  he  calls  upon  the  one  Father  to  strengthen 
men  to  transcend  all  narrownesses  of  family  or 
blood,  and  rise  to  realize  their  position  in  the 
great  family,  the  great  brotherhood  under  the 
one  Father.  To  do  this  a  strengthening  of  the 
inner  man,  or  inner  life,  by  the  divine  Spirit  is 
indeed  needed.  Christ  must  be  not  only  pos- 
sessed by  Christians,  but  realized.  He  must 
dwell  in  their  hearts  by  the  realizing  power  of 
an  active  personal  faith.  Where  this  is  so — 
where  faith  is  vigorous — there  life  must  be  rooted 
and  founded  on  love.  Christian  faith  involves 
love.  For  it  is  faith  in  a  Father  and  His  Son 
and  His  Spirit;  and  love,  and  nothing  but  love, 
is  the  gift  of  the  Father  in  the  Son  by  the  Spirit. 
This  love  then  will  strengthen  them,  in  the 
fellowship  of  the  saints  or  consecrated  ones 
altogether,  to  apprehend  God's  work  and  pur- 
pose in  all  its  dimensions — breadth  and  length 
and  depth  and  height — and  to  know  Christ's 
love  (which  yet  passes  knowledge  and  remains 
unknowable),  and  to  find  their  whole  being,  not 
as  separate  individuals,  but  as  one  body  praying 
and  working  and  thinking  together,  expanded 
to  take  in  the  fulness  of  what  God  is,  the  full 
complement  of  the  divine  life.  To  be  thus 
enlightened  and  enlarged  is  what  St.  Paul  under- 


St.  Paul's  second  prayer         135 

stands  by  being  a  '  good  catholic ' :  that  is  what 
he  prays  all  these  Asiatic  Christians  may  be- 
come. 

And  his  prayer  passes  into  a  doxology — an 
ascription  of  glory  to  God  because  He  is  able  to 
realize  even  what  passes  our  power  to  conceive 
or  to  ask  for;  and  that  without  doing  more  for 
us  than  He  has  already  pledged  Himself  to  do 
and  actually  begun  to  accomplish  in  us.  And 
this  glory  he  would  have  eternally  ascribed  to 
God  in  the  Church  which  lives  by  His  Hfe ;  and 
also  (where  alone  God  can  never  fail  of  His  full 
rights)  in  Him  in  whom  alone  God's  life  is  per- 
fectly realized,  and  worship  perfectly  rendered 
Him  under  conditions  of  manhood,  in  Jesus  the 
Christ. 

For  this  cause  I  bow  my  knees  unto  the  Father,  from 
whom  every  family  in  heaven  and  on  earth  is  named,  that 
he  would  grant  you,  according  to  the  riches  of  his  glory, 
that  ye  may  be  strengthened  with  power  through  his 
Spirit  in  the  inward  man ;  that  Christ  may  dwell  in  your 
hearts  through  faith  ;  to  the  end  that  ye,  being  rooted 
and  grounded  in  love,  may  be  strong  to  apprehend  with 
all  the  saints  what  is  the  breadth  and  length  and  height 
and  depth,  and  to  know  the  love  of  Christ  which  passeth 
knowledge,  that  ye  may  be  filled  unto  all  the  fulness  of 
God.  Now  unto  him  that  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abun- 
dantly above  all  that  we  ask  or  think,  according  to  the 
power  that  worketh  in  us,  unto  him  he  the  glory  in  the 


336      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

church  and  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  all  generations  for  ever 
and  ever.    Amen. 

St.  Augustine,  with  his  eye  on  the  imperfec- 
tions of  the  Church,  speaks  ^  of  'the  glory  of  love 
.  .  .  alive  but  yet  frost-bound.  The  root  is  alive, 
but  the  branches  are  almost  dry.  There  is  a 
heart  alive  within,  and  within  are  leaves  and 
fruits ;  but  they  are  waiting  for  a  summer.' 
That  is  surely  what  we  feel.  The  world  cries 
out  for  brotherhood.  We  are  perpetually  explain- 
ing that  brotherhood  can  only  become  actual,  in 
the  long  run,  where  men  know  themselves  to 
be,  and  in  fact  are,  sons  of  God.  We  are  con- 
tinually pointing  out  that  external  legislative 
social  reforms  can  only  effect  good  where  there 
exists,  to  respond  to  them  and  to  use  them,  some 
strength  and  purity  of  inward  character:  that 
outward  reforms  without  moral  redemption 
would  effect  evil  rather  than  good.  All  this  is 
true  and  it  is  necessary  to  explain  it.  But  the 
convincing  demonstration  begins  at  that  point 
where  Christianity  makes  man  feel,  and  see  in 
fact,  that  it  contains  in  itself  the  remedy  for  social 
evils,  because  it  has  the  spirit  of  love  :  where  the 
Church  is  so  actually  presented  as  that  men 
should  feel  and  know  that  this  is  a  true  human 

^  In  Epist.  Joan,  ad  Parih.  v.  10. 


Sf.  Paters  second  prayer         137 

brotherhood.  It  is  the  social,  human,  brotherly 
power  of  the  Church  which  is  what  is  at  the 
present  moment  best  calculated  to  win  the  con- 
sciences and  convince  the  intellects  of  men. 
But  this  actual  living  spirit  of  self-sacrificing^, 
love— this  spirit  of  real  brotherhood — how  'frost- 
bound  '  it  is !  How  large  the  area  of  the  Church, 
how  many  its  institutions,  where  it  is  not  (to  say 
the  least)  the  most  obvious  thing  represented! 
In  fact,  social  reform,  and  that  the  most  thorough 
and  the  most  permanent,  requires  nothing  more 
than  that  professing  Christians  should  be  better 
Christians,  Christians  who  really  believe  what 
St.  Paul  and  St.  John  say  about  the  love  of  the 
brethren.  Come  then,  O  breath  of  the  divine 
Spirit,  and  breathe  upon  these  bones  of  the 
Christian  Church,  that  they  may  live ! 

And  outside  the  area  of  nominal  Christianity 
how '  frost-bound '  our  evangelizing  love.  Surely 
the  Church  of  England,  as  part  of  the  expansive 
British  nation,  has  an  apostleship  to  the  nations 
comparable  to  St.  Paul's.  Yet  missionary  zeal, 
as  directed  towards  the  natives  of  India,  or  Japan, 
or  Africa,  is  a  very  restricted  thing ;  noticeably 
restricted  it  must  be  confessed  among  those  who 
most  love  the  name  of  Catholic  :  and  almost  non- 
existent in  the  great  majority  of  those  who  are 


138       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

yet  members  of  the  national  Church.  But  it 
cannot  be  too  deeply  felt  that  to  St.  Paul  the 
reconciliation  of  men  with  God  is  inseparable 
from  the  reconciliation  of  man  with  man.  The 
atonement  with  God  that  is  not  an  atonement 
among  men  he  would  not  own.  A  peace  with 
God  that  leaves  us  content  that  Hindoos  and 
Japanese  and  Africans  should  not  be  of  our 
religion  is  a  false  peace.  A  Christian  who  is 
not  really  in  heart  and  will  a  missionary  is  not 
a  Christian  at  all.  Missionary  effort  is  not  a 
speciality  of  a  few  Christians,  though,  hke  every 
other  part  of  Christian  life,  it  has  its  special 
organs.  It  is  an  essential,  never  to  be  forgotten, 
part  of  all  true  Christian  living,  and  thinking,  and 
praying. 

The  missionary  obligation  of  the  Church 
depends,  no  doubt,  chiefly  on  the  command  of 
Christ,  '  Go  ye  and  make  disciples  of  all  the 
nations.'  But  it  is  made  intelligible  when  we 
realize    that    Christianity   is    really  a    catholic 

'r'         religion,  and  that  only  in  proportion  as  its  catho- 
j     licity  becomes  a  reality  is   its  true  power  and 

^  richness  exhibited.  Each  new  race  which  is 
introduced  into  the  Church  not  onlyitself  receives 
the  blessings  of  our  religion,  but  reacts  upon  it 
to  bring  out  new  and  unsuspected  aspects  and 


Sf.  Paul's  second  prayer         139 

beauties  of  its  truth  and  influence.  It  has  been 
so  when  Greeks,  and  Latins,  and  Teutons,  and 
Kelts,  and  Slavs  have  each  in  turn  been  brought 
into  the  growing  circle  of  behevers.  How  im- 
poverished was  the  exhibition  of  Christianity 
which  the  Jewish  Christians  were  capable  of 
giving  by  themselves!  How  much  of  the 
treasures  of  wisdom  and  power  which  lie  hid 
in  Christ  awaited  the  Greek  intellect,  and  the 
Roman  spirit  of  government,  and  the  Teutonic 
individuahty,  and  the  temper  and  character  of 
the  Kelt  and  the  Slav,  before  they  could  leap 
into  hght!  And  can  we  doubt  that  now  again 
not  only  would  Indians,  and  Japanese,  and 
Africans,  and  Chinamen  be  the  better  for  Christi- 
anity, but  that  Christianity  would  be  unspeakably 
also  the  richer  for  their  adhesion — for  the  gifts 
which  the  subtlety  of  India,  and  the  grace  of 
Japan,  and  the  silent  patience  of  China  are 
capable  of  bringing  into  the  city  of  God. 

Come,  then,  O  breath  of  the  divine  Spirit,  and 
breathe  upon  the  dead  bones  of  the  Christian 
churches  that  forget  that  they  are  evangelists 
of  the  nations,  that  they  may  live  and  stand  upon 
their  feet,  an  exceeding  great  army,  an  army 
with  banners. 


140      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 


DIVISION   I.  §  6.    Chapter  IV.  1-16. 

The  unity  of  the  church. 

This  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  viewed  as  a 
whole  and  from  the  point  of  view  of  a  sympa- 
thetic inteUigence,  has  a  remarkable  unity,  and 
a  unity  progressively  developed.  Thus,  first 
of  all,  the  apostle  opened  the  imagination  of  his 
hearers  or  readers  to  consider  the  place  which 
the  catholic  church  holds  in  the  divine  counsels 
for  the  universe,  in  the  realization  of  the  human 
ideal,  and  in  the  work  of  redemption  from  sin 
(chap,  i  and  ii).  Then  he  proceeded  to  justify 
and  explain  his  own  activity  in  the  cause  of  catho- 
licity, and  made  them  feel  at  once  the  glory  and 
the  profound  difficulty  of  the  ideal  of  unity  in 
diversity  which  it  involves  (chap.  iii).  It  follows 
naturally  and  logically  that  he  should  set  the 
Church  before  them  as  an  actually  existing 
organization,  and  bid  them  study  it  exactly  and 
note  the  grounds  of  its  unity  and  the  common 
end  to  which  its  different  elements  or  members 


Connexion  of  thought  141 

are  meant  to  minister ;  and  this  is  what  he  actu- 
ally does  in  the  fourth  chapter  (1-16).  Viewed, 
however,  as  a  matter  of  grammatical  structure, 
it  is  probable  that  this  passage  forms  another 
digression — the  real  necessity  of  the  argument 
acting  as  an  overmastering  motive  which  pulls 
contrary  to  the  immediate  grammatical  purpose 
of  the  writer.  Thus  he  had  begun,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  chapter  iii,  to  pass  from  the  doctrinal 
exposition  which  is  involved  in  his  opening 
chapters  to  practical  exhortation.  The  Asiatic 
members  of  the  catholic  church  are  to  be  ex- 
horted to  live  up  to  their  calling :  to  turn  their 
backs  deliberately  on  their  old  heathen  habits, 
and  to  conform  themselves  entirely  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  their  new  state.  To  this  exhortation 
he  actually  and  finally  attains  at  chapter  iv.  17. 
The  intervening  passage  (a  chapter  and  a  half) 
is  occupied,  first,  with  the  digression  which  we 
have  just  considered  at  length,  about  St.  Paul's 
mission  to  the  Gentiles  and  the  difficulty  of  its 
realization,  and  with  the  great  pra3^er  which  that 
topic  suggests  (chap,  iii) ;  secondly,  with  another 
digression  on  the  character  of  the  unity  of  the 
Church.  This  is,  I  say,  probably  the  case  gram- 
matically. For  *  I,  Paul,  the  prisoner  of  Jesus 
Christ  for  you  Gentiles'  (iii.   i)   is  almost  un- 


142       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

mistakably  intended  to  introduce  a  moral  appeal 
to  which  his  imprisonment  for  the  sake  of  those 
to  whom  he  writes  adds  weight  and  force  ^  It  is 
taken  up,  after  a  digression,  in  iv.  i,  *  I,  there- 
fore, the  prisoner  of  the  Lord,  beseech  you  to 
walk  worthily ' ;  but  the  appeal  there  begun  yields 
anew  to  the  necessity  of  further  exposition,  and 
only  reaches  its  free  expression  in  iv.  17,  'This 
therefore  I  say  and  testify  in  the  Lord ' ;  after 
which  point  we  have  moral  exhortation  and  little 
else. 

Now,  therefore,  we  are  to  occupy  ourselves 
with  what  is  grammatically  a  second  digression, 
but  logically  and  really  a  most  necessary  step 
in  the  exposition  of  St.  Paul's  thoughts — the 
subject  of  the  unity  of  the  church  catholic,  its 
nature  and  obligations.  Conscious  of  the  pro- 
found difficulty  of  welding  naturally  antagonistic 
elements,  such  as  Jews  and  Gentiles,  slaves  and 
free  men,  into  one  cathohc  fellowship,  St.  Paul 
appeals  to  the  Asiatic  churches  with  all  the  force 
which  he  can  command  as  a  prisoner  on  their 
account,  to  '  walk '  as  their  catholic  calling  in- 

^  And  not  as  Dr.  Robertson  (Smith's  Did.  of  Bible.,  ed.  ii.  vol.  i. 
pt.  ii.  p.  951)  suggests,  to  introduce  a  prayer  to  God,  which  is  re- 
sumed in  iii.  14.  The  '  For  this  cause '  which  is  repeated  in  iii.  14 
is  not  nearly  so  significant  as  'the  prisoner  of  Jesus  Christ  for 
you  Gentiles,'  which  is  taken  up  again  in  iv.  i. 


The  unity  of  the  church  143 

volves ;  that  is,  to  exhibit  all  those  moral  qualities 
which  are  necessary  to  maintain  peace  under 
difficult  circumstances— a  modest  estimate  of 
oneself  (humility  or  *  lowliness '),  a  mildness  in 
mutual  relations  ('  meekness'),  an  habitual  refusal 
to  pass  quick  judgements  on  what  one  cannot  but 
condemn  or  dislike  ('  longsuffering '),  a  deliberate 
forbearance  one  of  another  based  on  love.  They 
are  to  accept  one  another  as  brethren,  with  the 
rights  of  brethren.  And  the  reason  why  they 
should  exhibit  these  qualities  is  not  far  to  seek : 
they  actually  share  one  common  supernatural 
life — the  imparted  life  of  the  Spirit — and  they 
are,  therefore,  to  make  it  their  dehberate  object 
to  preserve  this  actual  spiritual  unity  in  its 
appropriate  outward  expression,  that  is  in 
harmonious  fellowship, — '  giving  diligence  to 
keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of 
peace.' 

But  at  this  point  the  idea  of  the  unity  of  the 
Church  is  felt  to  need  fuller  exposition.  In  what 
sense  are  Christians  one  ?  They  are  one  as 
one  body  or  organization,  made  up  no  doubt  of 
a  multitude  of  differing  individual  members,  but 
all  bound  into  one,  under  Christ  for  their  head, 
by  the  fact  that  the  one  Spirit,  which  is  Christ's 
supreme  gift,  is  imparted  to  the  whole  organiza- 


144       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

tion  and  every  member  of  it :  and  this  common 
corporate  life,  where  the  elements  are  so  different, 
is  made  possible  by  the  one  hope  reaching  forward 
into  an  eternal  world,  which  was  set  before  them 
all  when  they  received  their  call  into  the  body 
of  Christ  This  should  be  enough  to  annihilate 
lower  and  shorter-lived  differences.  *  There  is 
one  body  ^  and  one  spirit  even  as  ye  are  called 
in  one  hope  of  your  calling/  It  follows  from 
this  that  there  is  another  threefold  unity.  For 
the  existence  of  the  common  head  involves  a 
common  allegiance  to  Him  as  Lord,  an  allegi- 
ance which  is  justified  by  what  He  is  believed  to 
be  by  all  Christians ;  an  allegiance,  further,  which 
is  more  than  an  outward  fealty,  being  cemented 
by  an  actual  incorporation  into  His  life  which 
takes  place  through  the  speaking  symbol  of  the 
laver  of  regeneration  ^.  '  One  Lord,  one  faith,  one 
baptism/  But  once  more.  This  common  union 
with  and  under  Christ  in  the  Spirit,  is  not  any- 
thing less  than  union  with  the  one  and  only 
God  and  Father,  who  is  over  all  as  the  one  head 
(even  *  the  head  of  Christ  is  God'),  through  all 
as  the  pervading  presence,  in  all  as  the  active 

^  I  have  interpreted  this  word  in  the  light  of  what  is  said  in 
verse  i6. 
3  Tit.  iii.  5. 


The  unity  of  the  church  145 

life, '  one  God  and  Father  of  all,  who  is  over  all 
and  through  all  and  in  all  things.'  Thus  their 
unity  is  the  deepest  and  most  ultimate  conceiv- 
able :  it  has  a  width  and  range  from  which  no 
one  can  be  excluded :  while  it  has  a  closeness 
and  cogency  Hke  the  unity  of  blood. 

To  realize  what  this  unity  is  and  may  be, 
involves  on  our  part  a  continual  looking  out  of 
ourselves,  out  of  all  individual,  social  and  national 
differences,  up  to  the  common  source  of  all 
the  gifts  of  all  Christians.  Whatever  each 
one  possesses  is  simply  the  gift  of  the  divine 
bounty  or  grace,  given  to  him  by  a  definite  act 
of  bestowal,  varying  merely  in  kind  and  degree 
according  to  the  sovereign  will  of  Christ  the 
Lord,  the  only  giver;  and  it  is  therefore  to  be  used 
in  His  service  and  for  His  ends.  The  Psalmist 
had  sung  of  the  divine  king  of  Israel  mounting 
as  an  earthly  conqueror  unto  his  sanctuary  throne 
in  Zion  after  making  captives  and  receiving  gifts 
from  among  his  enemies  without  exception. 

*  Thou  hast  gone  up  into  the  heights, 
Thou  hast  led  captives  captive  ; 
Thou  hast  received  gifts  among  men,  yea  from  the 
rebelhous  also  \' 

It  Stands  to  reason  that  to  St.  Paul's  mind  this 

1  Ps.  Ixviii.  18  (Delitzsch). 
L 


146      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

conception  is  realized  nowhere  but  in  Christ. 
Its  apphcation  to  Christ  is  in  fact  assumed — 
'therefore,'  i.e.  with  a  view  to  Christ,  'he'  or 
rather  '  it,'  the  Scripture  '  saith ' — and  the  passage 
is  given  free  interpretation,  and,  more  than  this, 
free  modification,  on  the  basis  of  this  assumption. 
For  (i)  the  ascension  of  the  conquering  king  is 
spoken  of  as  the  result  of  a  previous  descent  to 
the  *  lower  regions  of  this  earth  of  ours^.'  No 
man,  as  St.  John  says,  hath  ascended  up  to 
heaven  but  He  that  came  down  from  heaven. 
The  person  who  'beggared  himself  to  come 
down  to  our  earth  and  who  subsequently  mounted 
^  into  the  divine  glory  is  one  and  the  same  person, 
Christ  the  incarnate  Son;  and  He  thus  descended 
and  re-ascended  in  order  that  He  might,  through 
the  atonement  wrought  by  Him  in  the  flesh  and 
through  the  exaltation  which  rewarded  it,  restore 
to  the  universe  that  unity  of  which  sin  and 
rebellion  had  robbed  it,  and  '  fill  all  things '  once 
again  with  the  divine  bounty  and  presence  ^. 

'  I  do  not  think  St.  Paul  need  refer  to  the  descent  into  Hades. 
*  The  lower  parts  of  the  earth,'  Is.  xliv.  23,  may  also  refer  not  to 
Hades  (see  Delitzsch  in  loco)  but  to  'the  earth  beneath.' 

^  The  '  filling  all  things '  is,  in  the  epistles  to  the  Ephesians  and 
Colossians,  the  characteristic  action  of  the  exalted  Christ  and  the 
result  of  the  reconciliation  and  atonement  won.  Cf.  i  Cor.  xv. 
24-28,  *  That  God  may  be  all  in  all.' 


The  unity  of  the  church  147 

(2)  The  sense  of  the  psalm  is — possibly  not 
without  Jewish  precedent^ — altered  in  expression 
so  that,  instead  of  the  conqueror  receiving  gifts 
from  men,  his  conquered  enemies,  we  have  him 
represented  as  'giving  gifts  to  men.'  This 
modification,  whether  original  in  St.  Paul  or 
accepted  by  him,  is  no  doubt  due  to  the  fact  that 
his  mind  is  full  of  the  idea  of  Christ  as  con- 
quering only  to  bless,  receiving  homage  only  to 
be  enabled  to  bestow  on  them  who  offer  it  the 
fulness  of  the  divine  bounty.  And  the  '  captives ' 
of  Christ,  to  St.  PauFs  mind,  are  no  doubt  not 
men,  but  the  hosts  of  Satan  reduced  to  impotence. 
The  exalted  Christ,  then,  is  the  source  of  all 
gifts  in  His  Church,  and  He  bestows  on  men 
various  endowments  in  such  a  way  as  to  main- 
tain among  them  a  necessary  relation.  *  No 
member  of  the  body  of  Christ  is  endued  with 
such  perfection  as  to  be  able,  without  the 
assistance  of  others,  to  supply  his  own  neces- 
sities. A  certain  proportion  is  allotted  to  each, 
and  it  is  only  by  communicating  with  others 
that  all  enjoy  what  is  sufficient  for  maintaining 
their  respective  places  in  the  body  V  This  is  the 
principle  of  mutual  dependence,  the  fundamental 
principle   of  corporate   life.      Thus   '  He  gave 

*  See  Delitzsch's  and  Perowne's  notes.  ^  Calvin,  in  he. 

L  2 


148      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

some  as  apostles,  some  prophets/  others  in 
other  varying  capacities  to  fulfil  varying  func- 
tions ;  the  principle  of  the  bestowal  being  the 
same  throughout.  Each  'gifted'  individual  be- 
comes himself  a  gift  to  the  Church.  He  is 
*  gifted '  not  for  his  own  sake  but  for  the 
Church's  sake — 'with  a  view  to  the  perfecting 
of  the  saints,'  or  '  th^  complete  equipment  of  the 
consecrated  body,'  for  the  manifold  *  work  of 
ministry'  entrusted  to  it ;  or  to  look  at  the  matter 
from  a  rather  different  point  of  view,  'for  the 
purpose  of  completing  the  structure  of  the  body 
of  Christ ' — that  living  company  of  men  in  whom 
Christ  expresses  Himself  and  through  whom 
He  acts  upon  the  worM.  And  that  structure 
is  not  complete  till  all  together  attain  what  is 
impossible  to  any  isolated  Christian  individual, 
the  unity  not  only  of  a  common  faith,  but  also 
of  a  common  knowledge  of  what  is  revealed  in 
the  Son  of  God ;  or,  in  other  words,  to  the  full- 
grown  manhood ;  which,  once  again,  means  that 
complete  developement  in  which  the  fulness  of 
the  Christ— all  the  complete  array  of  His  attri- 
butes and  qualities— finds  harmonious  exhibition 
over  again  in  His  people,  His  body. 

But  the  possibility  of  this  completeness  on  the 
part  of  the  Church  as  a  whole,  depends  on  the 


The  unity  of  the  church  149 

stability  of  the  individual  members  in  the  common 
faith.  Thus  it  is  Christ's  purpose  that  His  mem- 
bers should  cease  to  be  as  children,  stirred  up 
like  the  waves  of  the  sea,  or  carried  about  like 
feathers,  by  every  wind  of  false  teaching.  There 
is,  it  must  be  remembered,  a  kingdom  of  deception, 
an  organized  attempt  to  seduce  souls,  of  which 
wicked  men  make  themselves  the  instruments. 
In  view  of  this  hostile  kingdom  of  error,  the 
Christians  must  abide  in  the  truth  revealed  to 
them  in  love,  and  so  grow  up  into  the  completed 
life  of  Christ.  For  He  is  the  head,  and  in  Him 
they  are  the  body.  And  the  body  is  a  unit  of 
many  parts  fitted  and  held  together  in  one  life 
by  a  supply  from  the  head,  which  circulates 
through  every  joint,  and  for  the  full  and  unim- 
peded communication  of  which  each  several 
limb  must  do  its  proper  work,  so  that  the  whole 
body  may  grow  into  completed  life  in  that  mutual 
coherence  which  is  Christian  love. 

This  prolonged  paraphrase  may  serve  to  bring 
out  the  innumerable  points  of  interest  in  that 
rich  passage  in  which  St.  Paul  as  it  were  gives 
the  reins  to  his  imagination  and  his  feelings  in 
order  to  describe  the  glory  of  the  unity  of  the 
Church. 


150      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

I  therefore,  the  prisoner  in  the  Lord,  beseech  you  to 
walk  worthily  of  the  calling  wherewith  ye  were  called, 
with  all  lowliness  and  meekness,  with  longsuffering, 
forbearing  one  another  in  love ;  giving  diligence  to  keep 
the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace.  There  is  one 
body,  and  one  Spirit,  even  as  also  ye  were  called  in  one 
hope  of  your  calling ;  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism, 
one  God  and  Father  of  all,  who  is  over  all,  and  through 
all,  and  in  all.  But  unto  each  one  of  us  was  the  grace 
given  according  to  the  measure  of  the  gift  of  Christ. 
Wherefore  he  saith, 

When  he  ascended  on  high,  he  led  captivity  captive, 

And  gave  gifts  unto  men. 
(Now  this.  He  ascended,  what  is  it  but  that  he  also  de- 
scended into  the  lower  parts  of  the  earth?  He  that 
descended  is  the  same  also  that  ascended  far  above  all 
the  heavens,  that  he  might  fill  all  things.)  And  he  gave 
some  to  be  apostles ;  and  some,  prophets  ;  and  some 
evangelists  ;  and  some,  pastors  and  teachers  ;  for  the  per- 
fecting of  the  saints,  unto  the  work  of  ministering,  unto 
the  building  up  of  the  body  of  Christ :  till  we  all  attain 
unto  the  unity  of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the 
Son  of  God,  unto  a  fullgrown  man,  unto  the  measure  of 
the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ :  that  we  may  be  no 
longer  children,  tossed  to  and  fro  and  carried  about  with 
every  wind  of  doctrine,  by  the  sleight  of  men,  in  crafti- 
ness, after  the  wiles  of  error  ;  but  speaking  truth  in  love, 
may  grow  up  in  all  things  into  him,  which  is  the  head, 
even  Christ;  from  whom  all  the  body  fitly  framed  and 
knit  together  through  that  which  every  joint  supplieth, 
according  to  the  working  in  due  measure  of  each  several 
part,  maketh  the  increase  of  the  body  unto  the  building 
up  of  itself  in  love. 


The  unity  of  the  church  151 

In  this  great  conception  of  church  unity  there 
are  several  points  to  which  special  attention 
must  be  given. 


The  Church  is  one,  first  of  all,  because 
a  common.. inward  life,  the  Spirit,  from  a  com- 
mon source,  Christ,  flows  in  her  veins  and 
makes  her  to  be  one  body.  What  is  this  '  unity  of 
Spirit ? '  sa3^s  Chrysostom.  'As  in  a  body  it  is 
spirit  which  holds  all  together,  and  makes  that 
to  be  a  unity  which  consists  of  different  limbs, 
so  it  is  in  the  Church,  For  the  Spirit  was  given 
for  this  purpose  that  He  might  unify  those  who 
differ  in  race  and  variety  of  habits.'  This  inward 
life  is  no  doubt,  as  we  shall  see,  imparted,  main- 
tained and  perfected  through  outward  means 
or  institutions — baptism,  the  eucharist,  human 
offices  and  ministries  ;  but  none  the  less  it  is  the 
inward  life  which  makes  the  Church  one.  So  that 
her  unity  is  like  the  unity  of  a  family  or  a  race, 
a  unity  of  blood  and  life  which  exists  in  spite  of 
all  outward  differences :  and  not  like  such  a  unity 
as  is  produced  by  outward  government,  as,  for 
example,  Armenians,  Syrians,  Kurds,  and  Turks 
make  up  the  unity  of  the  Turkish  empire,  or 
Englishmen   and  Frenchmen   the  Dominion  of 


152      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

Canada.  The  unity  of  the  Christian  Church  is 
thus  a  unity  which  ought  to  express  itself  in  *  the 
bond  of  peace/  but  which  does  not  consist  in 
that,  any  more  than  the  unity  of  a  family  consists 
in  the  affection  and  sympathy  which  yet  brothers 
ought  to  have  one  to  another.  This  Pauline  idea 
of  church  unity — which  is  the  idea  also  of  the 
New  Testament  as  a  whole — constantly  finds 
expression  in  early  Christian  writings,  but  one 
particular  expression  of  it  may  be  cited.  Hilary 
of  Poitiers,  in  argument  with  the  Arians,  is 
confronted  with  the  position  that  the  phrase 
'  I  and  my  Father  are  one '  means  only  one  in 
will,  not  one  in  nature,  like  the  phrase  used  of 
the  Church, '  one  heart  and  soul.'  He  refutes  the 
argument  by  urging  that,  in  the  latter  case  also, 
what  is  referred  to  is  not  a  unity  of  wills  but  of 
nature  :  believers  are  *  one  thing  through  a  new 
birth  into  the  same  (new)  nature.'  *Ye  are  all 
one,'  says  St.  Paul,  '  in  Christ  Jesus.'  '  The 
apostle  teaches  that  this  unity  of  the  faithful 
comes  from  the  nature  of  the  sacraments  .  .  . 
What  then  can  concord  of  minds  have  to  do 
with  a  case  where  men  are  already  made  one 
by  being  clothed  with  one  Christ  through  the 
nature  of  one  baptism  ?  ^ '    This  passage  gives 

*  Hil.  de  Tfiti.  viii.  7-9.     The  last  sentence  is  condensed. 


The  unity  of  the  church  153 

a  striking  view  of  what   ultimately  constitutes 
church  unity. 

It  is  necessary  to  call  attention  to  this  position 
because  the  great  Roman  church,  which  occupies 
so  large  a  space  in  the  whole  area  of  the  church, 
and  impresses  its  ideas  so  powerfully  upon  men's 
imagination,  has  perverted  this  idea  of  church 
unity  by  a  one-sided  emphasis  on  unity  of  govern- 
ment. I  find  a  typical  modern  Roman  statement 
in  Dr.  Hunter's  Outlines  of  Dogmatic  Theology"^ : 
'  The  Church  has  a  principle  of  oneness  which 
joins  the  members  together,  and  distinguishes 
the  society  from  a  mere  aggregate  of  uncon- 
nected units.  The  members  are  associated  in 
order  that,  believing  the  revelation  that  God  has 
given,  and  using  the  means  of  grace  which  He 
has  provided,  under  the  direction  of  the  governors 
who  have  their  authority  from  Him,  they  may 
attain  the  end  of  their  being,  the  salvation  of 
their  souls.  In  other  words,  the  unity  which 
the  Church  must  have  includes  the  unity  of 
faith,  unity  of  worship,  and  unity  of  govern- 
ment.' Here  we  have  church  unity  described 
as  an  outward  association  of  individuals  to 
attain  a  certain  end  by  submitting  to  a  common 
authority  in  matters  of  belief  and  worship.    The 

^  Vol.  i.  p.  317  (Longmans,  1895). 


154       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

unity  of  spiritual  life  which  St.  Paul  and  St. 
Hilary  put  distinctly  first,  becomes  secondary 
or  subordinate.  It  is  not  even  specified  among 
the  three  chief  elements  of  unity.  But  it 
makes  the  greatest  possible  difference  whether 
you  say  ^  the  Church  is  one  because  all  baptized 
persons  share  a  common  life  in  Christ,  and 
ought  therefore  to  behave  as  "one  body,"'  or 
*  the  Church  is  one  by  submitting  to  a  common 
authority  in  belief,  worship,  and  government.' 
The  second  is  the  Roman,  the  first  is  the 
apostohc  statement. 

ii. 
Once  more,  St.  Paul's  idea  of  the  unity  of  the 
Church  forbids  us  to  conceive  of  it  as  complete 
in  this  world.  Each  particular  church  with  its 
own  organization  has  a  certain  relative  com- 
pleteness, but  it  gains  all  its  meaning  and  life 
through  fellowship  in  the  body  of  Christ — the 
whole  society  of  men  who,  having  Christ  for 
their  head,  live  in  the  unity  of  a  life  derived 
from  Him.  The  head  of  the  body  is  out  of 
sight.  So  also  are  the  mem.bers  of  the  body  who 
'are  fallen  asleep'  but  are  still  'in  Jesus ^'  It 
is,  so  to  speak — and  increasingly  as  history  goes 

'   I  Thess   iv.  14. 


The  unity  of  the  church  155 

on — only  the  lower  limbs  of  the  body  who  are 
on  the  earth  at  any  particular  moment.  And 
they  find  their  centre  of  unity  at  no  lower  point 
than  Christ,  the  unseen  head.  This  idea  is 
vigorously  expressed  by  St.  Augustine  ^ :  *  Since 
the  whole  Church  is  made  up  of  the  head  and 
the  body,  the  head  is  our  Saviour  Himself,  who 
suffered  under  Pontius  Pilate,  who  now,  after 
He  has  risen  from  the  dead,  sits  at  the  right 
hand  of  God ;  but  the  body  is  the  Church— not 
this  church  or  that,  but  the  Church  scattered 
over  all  the  world ;  nor  is  it  that  only  which 
exists  among  men  now  living;  but  they  also 
belong  to  it  who  were  before  us  and  are  to  be 
after  us  to  the  end  of  the  world.  For  the  whole 
Church,  made  up  of  all  the  faithful,  because  all 
the  faithful  are  members  of  Christ,  has  its  head 
situate  in  the  heavens  which  governs  this  bod}' : 
though  it  is  separated  from  their  sight,  yet  it  is 
bound  to  them  by  love.' 

Now  it  is  obvious  that  this  Pauline  and 
Augustinian  idea  of  church  unity  excludes, 
instead  of  suggesting,  the  Roman  method  of 
arguing  for  the  papacy  from  the  necessity  that 
a  body  must  have  a  head.  An  association  of 
men  in  this  world,  such  as  the  Church  on  earth 

^  In  Ps.  hi.  i. 


156       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

is— a  'body  of  men*  in  this  sense— may  be 
governed  in  any  of  the  various  ways  in  which 
human  societies  are  governed,  not  by  any  means 
necessarily  by  a  monarch  ^  In  this  sense  a  body 
need  not  have  a  single  head ;  or  it  can  be  ruled 
by  a  president  in  a  council  of  equals.  But  in 
St.  Paul's  sense,  the  Church  as  a  body  must 
have  a  head,  and  that  head  can  be  none  other 
than  Christ,  because,  according  to  his  spiritual 
physiology,  from  its  head  the  Church  receives 
its  continually  inflowing  life ;  and  because  the 
body  is  not  completely,  but  only  partially,  in 
this  world,  and  the  head  must  be  over  all  the 
members,  and  not  only  over  some. 

iii. 

But  if  the  unity  of  the  Church,  as  St.  Paul 
expounds  it,  is  before  all  else  a  unity  of  life,  it  is 
as  well  a  unity  in  the  truth.  It  is  a  unity  based  on 
belief  in  a  divine  revelation,  given  in  the  person 
of  Christ — based  on  the  common  confession 
that  Jesus  crucified  and  risen  is  Christ  and 
Lord^.     To   say  that  'Jesus   is   the   Lord'  in- 

^  It  is  one  very  noticeable  feature  of  the  recent  Encyclical  of 
Leo  XIII  on  the  Unity  of  the  Church  ('satis  cognitum ')  that  it 
assumes  that  '■  only  a  despotic  monarch  can  secure  to  any  society 
unity  and  strength.' 

*  Romans  x.  9. 


The  unity  of  the  church  157 

volves  further — what  is  impHed  in  this  passage 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians — ^the  confes- 
sion of  the  threefold  name— the  'one  God  and 
Father/  the  'one  Lord'  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son 
of  God,  the  'one  Spirit'  v/hich  is  His  gift;  and 
there  can  be  no  real  question  that  St.  Paul's 
language  constantly  involves  that  the  Son  and 
Spirit  are  with  the  Father  really  personal,  and 
really  divine,  included,  so  to  speak,  in  the  one 
only  eternal  Godhead.  A  creed  then'  is  at  the 
basis  of  the  Christian  Hfe — a  creed  which  finds 
its  best  expression  and  safeguard  in  the  formu- 
lated doctrines  of  the  Trinity  and  the  Incarna- 
tion. There  is  no  reason  to  think  that  St.  Paul, 
if  the  situation  of  the  later  Church  could  have 
been  made  plain  to  him,  would  have  shrunk 
from  these  dogmatic  safeguards  of  the  Church's 
central  faith. 

But  if  we  grant— what  cannot  really  with  any 
show  of  reason  be  denied — that  the  Church  is 
a  visible  organization  based  on  a  certain  revealed 
truth,  which  must  be  accepted  by  its  members, 
and  which  admits  of  being  formulated  in  order  to 
be  preserved ;  still  this  truth  may  be  advanced 
and  defended  mainly  by  one  of  two  methods 
— that  of  external  regulative  authority,  or  that 
of  appeal  to  principles,  discussion,  controversy, 


158       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephestans 

exhortation.  And  it  can  hardly  be  denied  that 
St.  Paul  prefers  the  latter.  Sharp  appeals  to 
authority  are  indeed  to  be  found  in  St.  Paul  ^,  but 
they  are  very  rare.  For  example,  in  none  of  his 
epistles  against  the  Judaizers  is  the  authority 
of  the  apostolic  decision,  as  to  what  might  and 
what  might  not.  be  required  of  the  Gentile 
Christians  'in  Antioch,  Syria,  and  Cihcia-^/ 
brought  into  requisition ;  though  that  decision 
'settled  the  question.'  He  prefers  to  prove  that 
'  circumcision  is  nothing.'  This  may  be  in  part 
accounted  for  by  St.  Paul's  refusal  to  admit  that 
his  own  apostolic  authority  needed  the  support 
of  the  twelve,  and  by  the  limited  area  to  which 
the  decision  was  addressed  ;  but  there  is  another 
reason  as  well.  For  he  plainly,  as  all  his 
epistles  show,  prefers  to  appeal  not  to  autho- 
rity at  all  but  to  the  spiritual  reason ;  to  ex- 
pound principles,  to  argue,  to  awaken  the  heart, 
conscience,  and  mind  of  Christians.  It  must 
be  admitted  that  there  is  very  little  in  St.  Paul's 
epistles  about  differences  of  doctrinal  views 
among  Christians  as  distinct  from  differences 
in  practices.  Yet  there  is  enough — as  in  the 
vigorous  passage  about  the  '  regarding  of  one 

^  For  example,  see  Gal.  i.  6-9.  ^  Acts  xv.  23-29. 


The  unity  of  the  church  159 

day  above  another^ ' — to  justify  the  belief  that  he 
would  not  have  viewed  with  any  disapproval  the 
existence  in  the  Church  of  tolerated  differences 
of  opinion  where  they  did  not  touch  the  basis  of 
the  Church's  life.  Such  differences  of  view  are 
hardly  separable  from  what  St.  Paul  glories  in 
— a  unity  which  is  consistent  with  great  variety 
of  gifts  and  character,  and  great  freedom.  It  is 
unity  in  variety  which  he  has  as  his  ideal,  such 
a  unity  as  is  always  characteristic  of  a  unity 
of  life,  like  that  of  nature  or  of  a  free  people  ; 
or  a  unity,  again,  like  that  of  a  great  Gothic 
Church,  or  of  the  Bible. 

It  is  quite  certain  that  St.  Paul  would  have 
deprecated  that  *  short  and  easy '  method  of  pro- 
moting unity  which  has  constant  recourse  to  the 
external  pressure  of  dogma  and  authority. 


IV. 

It  follows  naturally  from  what  has  been  just 
said,  that  St.  Paul  should  look  not  so  much  to 
ecclesiastical  enactments  as  to  a  right  Christian 
temper  for  preserving  outward  unity.  '  Making 
it  your  moral  effort,'  so  we  may  paraphrase  his 
exhortation  to  the  Asiatic  Christians,  *  by  means 

^  Romans  xiv.  5-6 ;  cf.  Phil.  iii.  15-16. 


fJl> 


i6o      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

of  the  virtues  which  I  have  just  specified  of  humi- 
lity, meekness,  long-suffering,  and  forbearance, 
to  maintain  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of 
Christian  peace/  The  New  Testament  view  of 
heresy  (a  self-willed  separatism),  or  schism,  is 
that  it  is  a  violation  of  charity  and  peace  in  the  in- 
terests of  pride  and  impatience  and  self-will.  It 
is  men  like  'Diotrephes  who  loveth  to  have  the 
pre-eminence,'  who  violate  it.  In  fact  it  is  written 
in  history  that  the  ecclesiastical  schisms  of  the 

^past  have  been  due  mainly  either  to  the  impatience 
and  wilfulness  of  would-be  reformers,  from  Ter- 
tullian  downwards,  or  to  the  arrogance  and  love 
^of  domination  in  rival'  individuals  or  rival  sees. 

*  Nothing,'  says  Chrysostom  on  this  passage, 
'will  have  power  to  divide  the  Church  so  much  as 
the  love  of  authority,  and  nothing  provokes  God 
so  much  as  that  the  Church  should  be  divided. 
We  may  have  done  ten  thousand  good  actions, 
but  if  we  rend  the  fulness  of  the  Church,  we 
shall  suffer  punishment  with  those  who  rent 
His  body.' 

From  this  point  of  view  we  may  find  an  inter- 
esting parallel  to  this  exhortation  of  St.  Paul  in 
a  passage  of  Plato's  Laivs^  which  is,  I  believe, 
one  of  the  few  passages  in  pre-Christian  writings 
where    the    virtue    of   humility  is    recognized. 


The  unity  of  the  church  i6i 

'God,  as  the  old  tradition  declares,  holding  in 
His  hand  the  beginning,  middle,  and  end  of 
all  that  is,  moves  according  to  His  nature  in  a 
straight  line  towards  the  accomplishment  of  His 
end.  Justice  always  follows  Him,  and  is  the 
punisher  of  those  who  fall  short  of  the  divine 
law.  To  that  law  he  who  w^ould  be  happy  holds 
fast,  and  follows  it  in  all  humility  and  order ;  but 
he  who  is  lifted  up  with  pride,  or  money,  or 
honour,  or  beauty,  who  has  a  soul  hot  with 
folly  and  guilt  and  insolence,  and  thinks  that  he 
has  no  need  of  a  guide  and  ruler,  but  is  able 
himself  to  be  the  guide  of  others,  he,  I  say,  is 
left  deserted  of  God ;  and  being  thus  deserted, 
he  takes  to  him  others  who  are  like  himself, 
and  dances  about  in  wild  confusion ;  and  many 
think  that  he  is  a  great  man,  but  in  a  short  time 
he  pays  a  penalty  which  justice  cannot  but 
approve,  and  is  utterly  destroyed,  and  his  family 
and  city  with  him.' 

From  the  point  of  view  of  the  moral  duty  of 
preserving  ecclesiastical  unity,  it  is  quite  clear 
that  the  guilt  of  Christians  has  been  exceedingly 
great,  and  also  that  it  has  been  very  widely 
diffused.  The  amount  of  ambition,  insolence, 
and  impatience  in  the  Church  has,  in  fact, 
been  so  vast  that  it  remains  no  longer  a  matter 


i62       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

for  astonishment  that  it  should  have  made  the 
havoc  that  it  has  made  in  the  divine  household, 
and  should  have  thwarted,  as  it  has  thwarted, 
the  divine  intention.  But  the  recognition  of 
this  fact  lays  on  us  the  duty  of  meditating  con- 
tinually on  the  divine  intention,  and  by  all  that 
lies  in  our  power,  by  prayer  and  by  every  other 
means,  to  restore  the  recognition  of  the  divine 
principle  of  unity  whether  in  the  narrower  or 
the  wider  circle  of  church  life. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  now 
popular  principle  of  the  free  voluntary'  asso- 
ciation of  Christians  in  societies  organized  to 
suit  varying  phases  of  taste,  is  destructive  of 
the  moral  discipline  intended  for  us.  It  was 
the  obligation  to  belong  to  one  body  which 
was  intended  as  the  restraint  on  the  pre- 
judices and  eccentricities  of  race,  classes  and 
individuals.  If  Greeks,  Itahans,  and  English- 
men are  to  be  content  to  belong  to  different 
churches;  if  among  ourselves  we  are  to  have 
one  church  for  the  well-to-do,  and  another  for 
'labour';  if  any  individual  who  is  offended  in 
one  church  is  to  be  free  to  go  off  to  another 
where  he  or  she  likes  the  minister  better — where 
does  the  need  come  in  for  the  forbearance  and 
long-suffering  and  humihty  on  which  St.  Paul 


The  unity  of  the  church  163 

insists  as  the  necessary  virtues  of  the  one  bod}^  ? 
We,  Christians  but  not  in  one  brotherhood,  may 
not  be  able  to  agree  at  present  among  ourselves 
as  to  the  proper  basis  of  ecclesiastical  unity,  but 
we  ought  to  be  able  to  agree  that,  somehow  or 
other.  Christians  are  intended  by  Christ  and  by 
the  apostle  to  be  one  body,  and^that_the  wilful^^ 
\^olation  of  outward  unity  is.  truly  a  refusal  of^ 
the  yoke  of  Christ. 

And  a  great  step  would  have  been  taken 
towards  rendering  the  recovery  of  ecclesiastical 
unity  more  easy  if  those  who  recognize  the 
obligation  of  the  principle  could  be  brought  to 
perceive  that  true  Catholicism  really  requires 
a  large  measure  of  toleration  and  a  deliberate 
reasonableness.  At  present  it  is  not  too  m.uch 
to  say  that  the  idea  of  the  obligation  of  eccle= 
siastical  unity  is  widely  associated  with  an 
emphasis  on  ecclesiastical  and  dogmatic  authority 
such  as  is  utterly  alien  to  the  mind  of  the 
apostle  of  Catholicism, 

V. 

In  what  has  been  said  above  we  have  been 
attending  chiefly  to  the  restraints  which  St.  Paul's 
idea  of  church  unity  appears  to  set  upon  what  are 
commonly  known  as  '  ecclesiastical  tendencies.* 

M  2 


r^^^^ 


M  — 


164      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

Now  it  is  time  to  emphasize  the  other  side  of 
the  representation.  For  without  a  strongly  en- 
grained prejudice,  there  is  not,  it  seems  to  the 
present  writer,  any  possibihty  of  doubting  that 
St.  Paul  meant  by  'the  Church'  in  general,  a 
society  visible  and  organized,  represented  by 
a  number  of  visible  and  organized  local  societies 
or  churches  ^.  The  Church  is  in  fact  ideal  in . 
its  spiritual  character,  but  not  one  bit  the 
less  an  association  of  human  beings,  a  society 
with  quite  definite  limits,  ties,  and  obligations. 
For,  to  begin  with,  the  '  one  baptism '  which 
conveyed  the  spiritual  gift  of  incorporation 
into  Christ  was  also  the  initiation  into  an 
actual  brotherhood,  with  its  rules  of  conduct, 
worship,  and  belief:  'we  were  all  baptized  into 
one  body'-.'  The  '  one  Spirit '  was  normally  be- 
stowed by  the  '  laying  on  of  apostolic  '  hands ' — 
that  is,  the  hands  of  the,  chief  governors  of  the 
Christian  corporation.  This  rite  followed  upon 
and  completed  baptism,  and  its  administration  had 

'  Cf.  Hort,  Ecclcsia,  p.  169,  who  brings  out  that  all  members  of 
the  local  churches,  better  and  worse,  are  regarded  as  members 
of  the  universal  Church.  'There  is  no  evidence  that  St.  Paul 
regarded  membership  of  the  universal  Church  as  invisible  and 
exclusively  spiritual,  and  shared  by  only  a  limited  number  of  the 
members  of  the  external  Ecclesiae.'     See  also  app.  note  E,  p.  267, 

'*  1  Cor.  xii.  13. 


The  unity  of  the  church  165 

been  one  of  St.  Paul's  first  ministerial  acts  after 
he  began  his  preaching  at  Ephesus  ^  Again,  *  the 
breaking  of  the  bread'  or  eucharist,  according 
to  St.  Paul's  teaching,  both  nourished  the  life 
of  Christ  in  the  Church,  as  being  the  commu- 
nion of  His  body  and  blood,  and  also,  in  the 
'  one  loaf,'  symbolized  its  outward  corporate 
unity  -. 

Thus  the  bestowal  of  gifts  of  grace  through 
outward  rites,  which  belonged  to  the  corporate 
life  of  a  society,  insured  that  a  Christian  should 
be  no  isolated  and  independent  individual.  More 
than  this,  the  necessary  dependence  of  each  indi- 
vidual Christian  upon  the  one  organized  society 
is  made  further  evident  by  the  existence  of 
spiritually  endowed  officers  of  the  society  who 
were  as  'the  more  honourable  hmbs  of  the  body' — 
'  some  apostles,  some  prophets,  some  evangelists, 
some  pastors  and  teachers ' — without  whom  the 
body  would  have  lacked  its  divinely-given  equip- 
ment for  ministry  and  edification.  These  were 
not  merely  more  or  less  gifted  or  (as  we  say) 
talented  individuals  who  undertook  particular 
sorts  of  work  on  their  own  initiative,  or  by  the 
invitation  of  any  group  of  Christian  individuals. 
We  find  that  the  apostles  at  least  were  a  definite 

*  Acts  xix.  1-7.  "^  I  Cor.  x.  i6,  17. 


t66       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

bodyof  men  who  had  received  special  commission 
from  Christ  Himseh""  to  govern  His  Church^ 
The  Christian  '  prophets '  were  men  of  special 
supernatural  endowment,  to  know  and  declare 
God's  will,  and  foretell  His  purposes.  They 
ranked  after  the  apostles  in  virtue  of  their  pro- 
phetic gift  ^.  But  even  they  were  to  be  restrained 
by  the  exigencies  of  church  order.  *  The  spirits 
of  the  prophets  are  subject  unto  the  prophets ; 
for  God  is  not  a  God  of  confusion  but  of  peace, 
as  in  all  the  churches  of  the  saints/  Next  to  the 
prophets,  St.  Paul  specifies  the  '  evangelists^^' 
They  were  no  doubt,  as  their  name  implies, 
officers  engaged  with  the  apostles  in  the  general 
work  of  spreading  the  gospel,  that  is  of  found- 
ing and  organizing  churches.  Timothy,  who  is 
exhorted  to  '  do  the  work  of  an  evangelist  ^,' 
would  probably  have  ranked  amongst  them ;  and 
if  so,  Titus  and  other  similar  companions  and 
delegates  of  apostles.  At  any  rate,  by  whatever 
name  they  were  called,  such  men  belonged  to 

^  See  app.  note  E,  p.  269. 

^  In  ii.  20  and  iii.  5,  '  Apostles  and  prophets '  are  spoken  of 
together  almost  as  one  class  included  under  one  definite  article. 
And  of  course  the  apostle  Paul  remained  also,  what  he  is  first 
called,  a  prophet  (Acts  xiii.  i).  Apostles  were  also  prophets  ; 
but  not  all  prophets  were  apostles.  They  can  be,  therefore, 
grouped  apart  as  the}'  are  here  (iv.  ii). 

^  3  Tim.  iv.  5. 


The  unity  of  the  church  167 


the  specially  'gifted'  class,  if  we  may  judge  by  the 
case  of  Timothy.  But  he,  though  marked  out  by 
prophecy,  received  his  *  gift,'  as  a  church  officer, 
with  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  a  whole  pres- 
bytery, while  the  hands  of  the  apostle  himself  were 
the  divine  instruments  for  imparting  the  gift  to 
him  \  The  *  pastors  and  teachers ' — one  class  of 
men  and  not  two — are,  we  may  say  certainl}^, 
identical  with  the  presbyters  or  '  bishops  '  as  they 
were  called  by  St.  Paul  at  Ephesus ;  and  these 
again  were  men  of  spiritual  endowment,  but  also 
local  church  officers  who  had  received  a  definite 
apostolic  appointment  %  and  there  is  no  reason  to 
doubt  by  laying  on  of  hands.  Thus  the  Church, 
as  St.  Paul  conceives  it,  is  a  body  differentiated 
by  varieties  of  spiritual  endowments  imparted  to 
definite  officers,  for  the  fulfilment  of  functions 
necessary  to  the  life  and  development  of  the 
whole  body.      Thus  the  outward  unity  of  the 

'  I  Tim.  iv.  14  ;  2  Tim.  i.  6. 

^  Acts  xiv.  23.  This  is  interpreted  by  the  phrase  (Acts  xx,  28) 
*  The  Holy  Ghost  made  you  bishops.'  Cf.  Titus  i.  5,  '  I  left  thee 
...  to  appoint  elders  in  every  city.  .  .  .  For  the  bishop  must  be 
blameless.'  I  assume  here  the  practical  identity  of  bishops  and 
presbyters,  as  Acts  xx.  28,  Tit.  i.  5-7,  Acts  xiv.  23  (with  Phil.  i.  i) 
seem  to  require.  But  '  the  presbyters  '  or  the  *  presbyterate  '  was 
the  more  general  name  for  the  governing  body  of  a  church,  and 
an  apostle  can  therefore  call  himself  a  presbyter  or  include  himself 
in  the  presbyterate  (i  Peter  v.  i  ;  i  Tim.  iv.  14),  whereas  he 
would  hardly  call  himself  a  '  bishop.' 


1 68       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

society  at  any  particular  moment,  and  the  neces- 
sary connexion  of  each  individual  Christian  with 
it,  is  secured  both  by  the  existence  of  social 
sacraments  or  means  of  grace,  and  by  the  ex- 
istence of  a  ministry  spiritually  endowed  and 
commissioned,  to  whom  individual  Christians 
owed  allegiance,  and  who  ranked  as  the  more 
honourable  limbs  of  that  body  to  which  they 
must  belong  if  they  would  belong  to  Christ. 

vi. 

St.  Paul  is  not  here  thinking  of  the  unity  of 
the  Church  otherwise  than  at  a  particular 
moment.  But  if  one  turns  one's  attention  to  its 
continuous  unity  down  the  ages,  again  it  must 
be  recognized  that  one  main  link  of  unity  has 
been  in  fact  the  apostohc  succession  of  the 
ministry ;  that  is  the  permanence  in  the  Church 
of  a  spiritually-endowed  *  stewardship  of  divine 
mysteries '  received  continually  by  the  original 
method  of  the  laying  on  of  hands  in  succession 
from  apostolic  men.  The  necessity  for  each  indi- 
vidual Christian  to  remain  in  relation  to  these 
commissioned  stewards  if  he  wishes  to  continue 
to  be  of  the  divine  household,  has  kept  men  to- 
gether in  one  body.  And  any  one  who  looks  at 
St.  Paul's  method  of  imparting  spiritual  authority 


The  unity  of  the  church  169 

and  office  to  Timothy  and  Titus,  and  directing 
them  in  their  turn  to  hand  it  on  by  ordaining 
others,  can  scarcely  doubt  that  he  contemplated 
the  institution  in  the  Church  of  a  permanent 
ministry  deriving  its  authority  from  above. 

How,  in  fact,  did  the  later  church  ministry 
connect  itself  with  that  which  we  find  existing  in 
the  apostolic  age?  The  apostolic  ministry  divides 
itself  broadly  into  the  general  and  the  local. 
There  are  '  ministers '  or  *  stewards '  who  are 
officers  of  the  church  cathohc  and  have  a  general 
commission.  Such  general  commission  belonged, 
of  course,  to  the  apostles,  though  mutual  delimi- 
tations were  arranged  among  themselves  and 
though  St.  James,  who  ranked  with  the  apostles, 
was  settled  at  Jerusalem.  It  belonged  also, 
more  or  less,  to  *  evangelists '  and  other  '  apos- 
tolic men,'  who,  however,  might  be  temporarily 
located  in  particular  churches  and  districts, 
like  Timothy  in  Ephesus,  and  Titus  in  Crete. 
It  belonged  also  to  the  prophets,  who  would 
have  been  recognized  as  men  inspired  of  God 
in  all  the  churches,  and  who  in  the  subapostolic 
age  are  found  in  some  districts  exercising  func- 
tions like  those  of  the  apostles  in  the  first  age. 
The  local  officers,  on  the  other  hand,  were  the 
presbyters,  who  are  called  also  bishops,  and  the 


lyo       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

deacons.  With  this  earhest  state  of  things  in 
our  mind,  we  shall  perceive  that  where  an  apostle 
or  apostolic  man  was  permanently  resident  in 
one  particular  church,  a  threefold  ministry,  like 
that  of  later  church  history  already  existed.  So 
it  was  at  Jerusalem  where  the  presbyters  and 
deacons  were  presided  over  by  St.  James.  So 
it  was  in  Crete  under  Titus,  and  in  Ephesus 
under  Timothy.  So  it  was  a  few  decades  later 
in  all  the  churches  of  Asia  as  organized  by 
St.  John.  In  other  parts  of  the  world  the  exact 
method  by  which  the  ministry  developed  is  a 
matter  of  much  dispute.  But  it  seems  to  the 
present  writer  most  probable  that  ever3^where 
the  threefold  ministry  came  into  existence  by 
(i)  a  change  of  arrangement,  and  (2)  a  change  of 
name,  (i)  The  change  of  arrangement  was  the 
establishment  in  each  local  church  of  a  prophet, 
or  one,  like  Timothy  or  Titus,  who  had  been 
ordained  to  quasi-apostolic  office  by  an  apostle 
or  man  of  apostolic  rank ;  such  a  change  taking 
place  first  at  the  greatest  centres,  and  then  in 
lesser  cities.  (2)  The  change  of  name  was  the 
appropriation  to  this  now  locahzed  ruler  of  the 
title  of  bishop  or  *  overseer '  which  had  hitherto 
appertained  more  or  less  to  the  presbyters 
generally. 


The  unity  of  the  church  171 

But  in  an}^  case  it  is  certain  that  the  develope- 
ment  of  the  ministry  occurred  on  the  principle  of 
the  apostolic  succession.  Those  who  were  to 
be  ministers  were  the  elect  of  the  church  in 
which  they  were  to  minister :  but  they  were 
authoritatively  ordained  to  their  office  from 
above,  and  by  succession  from  the  apostolic  men. 
And  such  a  principle  of  ministerial  authority 
appears  to  be  not  only  historical,  but  also  most 
rational.  For  a  continuous  corporate  unity  was 
to  be  maintained  in  a  societ}^  which,  as  being 
catholic,  must  lack  all  such  natural  links  of  con- 
nexion as  are  afforded  by  a  common  language 
or  common  race.  And  how  could  such  con- 
tinuous corporate  unity  have  been  so  well 
secured  as  by  a  succession  of  persons  whose 
function  should  be  to  maintain  a  tradition,  and 
whose  ministerial  authority  should  make  them 
necessary  centres  of  the  unity? 


172      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 


DIVISION  II.     Chapters  IV.  17 -VI.  24. 

Doctrine  and  conduct. 

Here  the  apostle,  with  a  final  'therefore/ 
resuming  the  'therefore'  of  IV.  i,  passes  with- 
out further  delay  to  the  entirely  practical 
portion  of  the  epistle. 

These  'therefores'  are  characteristic  of  St. 
Paul.  They  indicate  his  deep  sense  of  the  vital 
and  necessary  connexion  between  the  Christian 
mode  of  living  and  the  doctrines  of  Christian 
behef  Christian  behef  is  a  mould  fashioning 
human  conduct  by  a  constant  and  uniform 
pressure  into  a  characteristic  type,  or  a  set  of 
forces  urging  it  along  certain  lines  of  move- 
ment. Thus  when  some  point  of  Christian  belief 
has  been  expounded  there  follows  a  '  therefore ' 
indicating  the  inevitable  moral  consequence  of 
such  belief  where  it  is  intelligentlyand  voluntarily 
held.  Of  course  the  consequence  does  not 
follow  of  mechanical  necessity.  The  doctrine 
acts  by  an  appeal  to  the  will.    '  I  beseech  you 


Doctrine  and  conduct  173 

therefore,  brethren,  by  the  mercies  of  God' — 
so  St.  Paul  makes  his  appeal  to  the  Romans, 
when  he  had  given  them  his  great  exposition 
of  the  doctrines  of  grace  and  justification  ^ 
When  he  has  expounded  the  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection  to  the  Corinthians  ^,  he  concludes — 
*  Therefore^  my  beloved  brethren,  be  ye  stedfast,* 
&c.  The  doctrine  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Colossians  leads  to  two  conclusions  :  *  mortify 
therefore'  and  'put  on  therefore^  as  God's  elect, 
holy  and  beloved,  a  heart  of  compassion  ^.'  The 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  contains  similar  moral 
appeals  based  on  dogmatic  statements.  *  There- 
fore let  us  give  the  more  earnest  heed.'  *  Having 
therefore,  brethren,  boldness  by  the  blood  of 
Jesus,  let  us  draw  near  with  a  true  heart' 
'  Therefore  let  us  lay  aside  every  weight  ^.' 
These  'therefores,'  I  say,  indicate  a  fundamental 
characteristic  of  Christianity :  it  is  a  manner  of 
living  based  upon  a  disclosure  of  divine  truth 
about  God  and  His  will,  about  man's  nature  and 
his  sin,  about  God's  redemptive  action  and  its 
methods  and  intentions. 

Among  ourselves  to-day  we  hear  frequently 
enough    disparaging    reference    to    theological 

^  Rom.  xii.  i.  ^  i  Cor.  xv.  58.  ^  Col.  iii.  5,  12. 

*   Heb.  ii.  I  ;  x.  19  ;   xii.  i. 


174       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

doctrine  whether  as  a  subject  for  study  or  for 
definite  instruction.  Theological  dogmas  are 
alluded  to  as  things  remote  from  the  ordinary 
concerns  of  men  and  associated  with  the  jarring 
interests  of  different  religious  bodies  or  of  their 
clergy,  with  '  denominationahsm  '  or  *  sacerdo- 
talism ^'  This  idea  has  been  due  in  great 
measure  no  doubt  to  faults  in  theologians  and 
priests.  But  it  is  none  the  less  absurd,  when 
it  is  seriously  considered.  If  those  whose  lives 
have  given  the  most  shining  examples  of 
practical  Christianity  in  all  ages  were  cross- 
questioned,  it  would  be  found  that  the  over- 
whelming majority  would,  in  all  simplicit}^, 
attribute  what  was  good  in  their  life  to  their 
definite  beliefs.  Indeed,  it  is  self  evident  that 
it  must  have  a  practically  vast  effect  on  a  m.an's 
conduct  whether,  for  instance,  he  really  believes 
that  his  own  and  other  men's  lives,  after  some 
seventy  years  of  probation  in  this  world,  pass 
under  divine  judgement,  only  to  enter  into 
new  and  eternal  conditions  where  they  will  in- 
evitably reap  the  fruits  of  their  previous  careers. 

^  An  interesting  expression  of  this  sort  of  feeling  is  to  be  found 
in  George  Crabbe's  poem,  The  Library.  On  the  w'^hole  we  must 
have  improved  since  his  day  in  our  perception  of  the  connexion 
of  Christian  doctrine  with  Christian  practice. 


Doctrine  and  conduct  175 

It  must  make  a  vital  difference  whether  he 
beheves  that  the  world  is  the  expression  of 
blind  force  or  of  the  will  of  a  living,  loving, 
God ;  whether  or  no  he  believes  that  God 
personally  cares  for  each  individual :  whether 
or  no  he  believes  that  God's  interest  in  the 
world  was  such  as  to  move  Him  to  redeem  it, 
by  the  sacrifice  of  Himself,  from  the  tyranny 
of  sin :  whether  he  believes  in  divine  forgive- 
ness and  God's  indwelling  by  His  Spirit: 
whether  he  believes  in  a  divine  brotherhood 
and  divine  means  of  grace  in  a  household  of 
God  in  the  world.  In  fact,  if  the  practical  ethics 
of  India  and  China,  or  the  Turkish  Empire  and 
Morocco,  are  considered  side  by  side  with  those 
of  Christian  Europe,  it  is  impossible  to  resist 
the  conviction  that  men's  behaviour  depends  in 
the  long  run  on  what  they  believe  about  God. 

This  obvious  conclusion  is,  in  part,  veiled 
from  our  eyes  by  two  facts.  One  is  that  logic 
works  slowly  in  human  life.  Take  a  transverse 
section  of  humanity  at  any  particular  moment, 
and  it  appears  a  mass  of  inconsistencies.  It 
might  almost  suggest  that  there  is  no  connexion 
at  all  between  belief  and  practice.  But  the 
same  appearance  is  not  presented  by  human  life 
in  its  long  reaches.     There  you  see  how,  in  the 


176       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

slow  result,  an  alteration  of  belief  involves  an 
alteration  of  practice.  Thus  to  take  an  example : 
at  present  our  social  conscience  about  the 
obligations  of  marriage,  or  about  personal  purity, 
or  about  suicide,  unsatisfactory  as  it  may  appear 
to  be  to  an  earnest  Christian,  is  still  saturated 
with  Christian  sentiment  which  is  the  result  of 
a  prolonged  impression  left  by  Christian 
doctrine.  If  the  doctrine  were  to  pass  out  of 
the  minds  of  Englishmen  in  general,  after  a 
generation  or  two  there  would  be  a  weakening 
or  destruction  of  the  corresponding  sentiment, 
and  an  abolition  of  what  is  at  present  an  obstacle 
to  the  reign  of  sensual  or  selfish  desires.  But 
it  takes  some  generations  for  the  effect  of  any 
weakening  of  belief  to  make  itself  felt. 

There  is  another  fact  which  veils  from  the 
eyes  of  people  in  general  the  real  connexion 
between  morals  and  doctrine.  It  is  that  it  is 
largely  mediate  or  indirect.  The  moral  standard 
of  the  'average  man'  is,  unconsciously,  kept  up 
by  the  morals  of  the  best  men  and  women. 
For  social  opinion  is  with  the  majority  the 
force  which  mainly  influences  their  practice, 
and  social  opinion  depends  largely  on  leaders. 
*  It  is  when  the  best  men  cease  trying  that  the 
world    sinks    back    like    lead.'     Let    anything 


Doctrine  and  conduct  177 

happen  which  should  silence  the  moral  effort 
of  the  best  individuals,  and  disaster  would  be 
imminent.  But  this  is  exactly  what  would 
be  the  result  if  the  best  men  and  women  were 
to  cease  to  be  Christian  believers.  It  is  the 
highest  level  of  our  common  life  that  would 
be  depressed.  The  result  all  round  would  be 
indirect,  but  it  would  be  widespread  and 
disastrous. 

I  do  not  mean,  or  think,  that  this  weakening 
of  religious  belief  in  the  best  men  and  women 
is  occurring.  I  only  instance  its  morally  certain 
results  to  make  apparent  how  the  general 
bearing  of  religious  beliefs  on  social  practice 
is,  in  one  way,  veiled  by  its  indirectness. 

But  to  St.  Paul  all  this  is  self-evident.  He 
sees  quite  clearly  that  Christianity  is  to  be  a 
new  life,  a  new  social  and  ethical  manifestation 
in  the  world,  because  Christians  believe  that 
God  has  made  plain  to  them  in  Jesus  Christ 
His  character,  nature,  and  redemptive  purposes, 
and  has  given,  by  His  Spirit,  a  practical  power 
to  their  wills  to  correspond  with  the  truth 
revealed  to  their  intelligences  and  hearts. 

So  he  proceeds  from  his  exposition  of  the 
great  doctrines  of  the  Church  of  the  Redemption 
to  its  practical  moral  consequences. 

N 


178       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephestans 


DIVISION  II.  §  I.    Chapter  IV.  17-24. 

Christianity  a  new  life. 

The  characteristic  words  of  St.  Paul's  gospel 
— grace,  forgiveness,  mercy,  liberty,  justification 
by  faith  not  by  works — may  naturally,  when 
taken  by  themselves  and  isolated  from  their 
context,  lead  to  a  false  thought  of  God  as  morally 
*  easy  going,'  and  to  a  corrupt  laxity  of  conduct. 
Such  a  result  has  shown  itself  within  the  area 
of  modern  history  in  the  antinomianism  of 
some  Protestant  bodies.  But  long  before  the 
Reformation  St.  Paul's  words  were  'wrested 
by  the  ignorant  and  unstedfast  to  their  own 
destruction  ^'  It  was  probably  a  misunder- 
standing of  St.  Paul's  doctrine  of  justification  by 
faith  which  called  forth  the  protest  of  St.  James' 
epistle.  And  indeed  the  traces  of  this  tendency 
to  pervert  the  gospel  are  apparent  enough  in 

^  2  Pet.  iii.  16. 


Nezv  life  in  Christ  179 

St.  Paul's  own  epistles.  Divine  grace,  it  was 
even  argued,  can  better  show  its  largeness  if  we 
afford  it  an  opportunity  by  the  abundance  of  our 
sin.  *  Let  us  continue  in  sin  that  grace  may 
abound.'  To  this  monstrous  suggestion  St 
Paul  replies,  in  his  epistle  to  the  Romans  ^,  that 
it  rests  on  a  complete  misconception.  Christian 
faith  is  an  introduction  into  Christ.  Beheving 
we  are  baptized  into  Him.  This  means  that  we 
are  to  live  as  He  lived  towards  the  world  of  sin 
and  towards  God.  It  means  that  we  surrender 
ourselves  in  a  spirit  of  glad  obedience  to  be 
moulded  after  His  pattern.  If  our  believing 
does  not  lead  to  this  new  living,  beyond  all 
question  it  is  a  spurious  thing,  and  none  of  the 
Christian  privileges  attach  to  it.  With  a  similar 
purpose  St.  Paul  writes  here  to  the  Asiatics — 
newly-made  Christians,  who  lived  in  the  midst 
of  an  appallingly  corrupt  society,  and  whose 
inherited  traditions  of  conduct  were  altogether 
lacking  in  self-restraint — to  warn  them  against 
possible  abuses  of  their  Christian  privileges  and 
Christian  liberty. 

To  be  a  Christian  is  to  be  committed  to  a  new 
life  different  utterly  from  the  old  life. 

What  was   the  old  life?     In   writing  to  the 

'  Rom.  vi.  I  ff. 
N  2 


i8o       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephestans 

Romans  St.  Paul  describes  the  life  of  the  con- 
temporary heathen  world  as  having  its  origin  in 
a  refusal  of  the  will  to  acknowledge  God.  '  They 
glorified  Him  not  as  God.'  'They  refused  to 
have  God  in  their  knowledge.'  Hence  a  darkening 
of  the  understanding.  *  They  became  vain  in 
their  reasonings ;  their  senseless  hearts  were 
darkened ;  professing  themselves  to  be  wise  they 
became  fools.'  This  explains  the  origin  and 
possibility  of  so  fooHsh  a  worship  as  that  of  men 
and  beasts.  Further,  with  the  obscuring  of  the 
intelligence  there  was  a  perversion  and  emanci- 
pation of  the  passions,  resulting  in  all  forms  of 
lawlessness  and  unnatural  vice.  A  similar 
description  of  the  '  old  life '  St.  Paul  gives  here. 
The  root  of  evil  here  also  appears  to  be  in  the 
'heart'  (or  will) — 'the  hardening  of  the  heart'; 
hence  arises  '  vanity  of  the  mind,'  an  aimlessness 
or  loss  of  all  true  and  fixed  point  of  view, 
a  '  darkening  of  the  understanding,'  an  inherent 
'  ignorance  ';  and  accompanying  this  loss  of  real 
intelligence  has  been  a  loss  of  what  is  the  true 
goal  of  human  life,  fellowship  in  '  the  life  of  God.' 
Instead  of  that  a  life  of  uncleanness  has  pre- 
vailed, made  into  a  regular  business  ^,  and  pur- 
sued with  '  greediness,'  i.  e.  an  entire  disregard 

^  '  To  work  all  uncleanness.'     Marg.  '  to  make  a  trade  of.' 


New  life  in  Christ  i8i 

for  others'  rights — such  a  Hfe  as  is  only  possible 
where  all  true  human  feeling  and  good  taste  has 
been  quenched.  Men  have  become  'past  feeling.' 
As  regards  the  relation  of  this  black  picture  to 
the  actual  facts,  enough  has  perhaps  been  said 
above.  At  least  St.  Paul's  picture  is  given  as 
a  direct  challenge  to  the  experience  of  those  to 
whom  he  writes ;  and  it  is  not  blacker,  at  any 
rate,  than  the  picture  given  by  a  philosophic 
contemporary  at  Ephesus,  who  calls  himself 
Heracleitus.  And  on  the  black  background  of 
this  '  former  manner  of  hfe,'  this  '  old  man '  or 
old  manhood — a  life  ruled  by  lusts  which  are 
not  only  morally  evil  but  deceive  and  mock  those 
who  yield  to  them,  leading,  in  fact,  to  nothing 
but  corruption  and  death,  a  '  waxing  corrupt  after 
the  lusts  of  deceit ' — St.  Paul  sketches  in  the 
new  life  in  Christ.  To  become  a  believer  is  to 
submit  one's  intelligence  to  learn  a  new  lesson, 
to  stud}^  Christ ;  it  is  to  yield  one's  self  to  a  '  form 
of  teaching  ^ '  in  order  to  have  one's  life  re- 
fashioned in  marked  contrast  to  old  and  aban- 
doned ways  of  life ;  it  is  to  imbibe  a  new 
principle  in  the  heart  of  one's  rational  being,  *  to 
be  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  one's  mind  ' ;  it  is  to 
put  on  dehberately,  as  a  man  puts  on  clothing, 

*  Rom.  vi.  17. 


i82       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

a  new  manhood,  Christ's  manhood,  which  is 
*  according  to  God  V  that  is,  is  based  on  His  own 
life,  and  is  His  '  new  creation '  in  righteousness 
and  hoHness.  And  this  righteousness  and  hoH- 
ness  can  never  deceive  us  by  false  promises, 
because  they  are  rooted  in  '  truth  '  or  reahty. 

This  I  say  therefore,  and  testify  in  the  Lord,  that  3'e 
no  longer  walk  as  the  Gentiles  also  walk,  in  the  vanity 
of  their  mind,  being  darkened  in  their  understanding, 
alienated  from  the  life  of  God  because  of  the  ignorance 
that  is  in  them,  because  of  the  hardening  of  their  heart; 
who  being  past  feeling  gave  themselves  up  to  lascivious- 
ness,  to  work  all  uncleanness  with  greediness.  But  ye 
did  not  so  learn  Christ ;  if  so  be  that  ye  heard  him,  and 
were  taught  in  him,  even  as  truth  is  in  Jesus  :  that  ye 
put  away,  as  concerning  your  former  manner  of  life,  the 
old  man,  which  waxeth  corrupt  after  the  lusts  of  deceit ; 
and  that  ye  be  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  your  mind,  and 
put  on  the  new  man,  which  after  God  hath  been  created 
in  righteousness  and  holiness  of  truth. 

There  is  one  phrase  in  this  passage  which 
may  need  some  further  comment—'  The  life  of 
God/  Into  God's  own  eternal  life,  as  He  lives 
it  in  Himself,  we  are  given  but  glimpses.  But 
God  is  also  living  in  the  world  as  its  inherent 
life,  and  each  form  of  creation  participates  in 
its  measure,  even  if  unconsciously,  in  the  life 

^  Eph.  iv,  24,  R.  v.     Marg.  '  the  new  man  which  is  after  God, 

created,'  &c. 


New  life  in  Christ  183 

of  God.  Consciously  and  intelligently  man  was 
intended  to  participate  in  it,  but  he  '  alienated ' 
himself  from  it  by  sin;  and,  while  he  was 
physically  sustained  in  life  by  God,  morally  and 
mentally  he  was  an  exile.  But  Christ  embodies 
the  divine  life  anew  in  human  form,  and  by  His 
Spirit  imparts  it  as  a  new  life  to  men.  Once 
more  in  Christ  men  live  both  'in  God'  and 
'  according  to  God.* 

This  thought  of  our  relation  to  the  life  of 
God  is,  in  part,  expressed  in  the  Latin  original 
of  the  Collect  for  the  ninth  Sunday  after 
Trinity,  in  which  we  pray  '  that  we  who  cannot 
exist  without  Thee,  may  be  enabled  to  hve 
according  to  Thee.' 


184       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 


DIVISION  II.  §  2.    Chapter  IV.  25-32. 

The  new  life  a  corporate  life. 

The  first  characteristic  of  the  new  hfe  dwelt 
upon  is  its  corporate  character,  as  a  hfe  hved  by 
those  who  are  *  members  one  of  another/  and 
have  therefore  a  common  aim.  In  a  body  of 
people  working  with  a  common  aim  there  may 
be  a  healthy  rivalry  and  competition  in  doing 
good  work,  a  manifold  spirit  of  initiation  and 
inventiveness,  and  there  may  be  rewards  of 
labour,  proportioned  not  merely  to  needs  but 
to  these  personal  excellences.  But  what  there 
cannot  be  is  a  competition  which  runs  to  the 
point  of  mutual  destructiveness,  orsuch  accumu- 
lation of  the  fruits  of  skill  and  labour  in  a  few 
hands  as  maims  or  starves  the  life  of  the 
majority.  The  common  interest  prevents  this. 
'  The  members  must  have  the  same  care  one  of 
another,'  so  that  '  when  one  member  suffers  all 
the  members  suffer  with  it\'    The  life  is  the  life 

^  I  Cor.  xii.  25,  26. 


Corporate  duties  185 

of  a  body,  and  the  general  well-being  is  there- 
fore the  common  interest  of  all  the  members,  for 
the  weakening  or  decay  of  one  is  the  weakening 
and  decay  of  a  more  or  less  valuable  part  of  a 
connected  hfe.  This  is  the  general  principle  on 
which  the  Church  is  based.  This  is  the  moral 
meaning  of  churchmanship.  '  Ye  are  members 
one  of  another.' 

Various  specific  obligations  follow  from  this 
general  principle, 

(a)  Truthfulness  and  openness;  for  falsehood 
and  concealment  belong  to  a  life  of  separated 
and  conflicting  interests.  The  prophetic  ideal 
for  the  restored  Israel  is  to  be  realized  among 
Christians.  *  Speak  ye  every  man  truth  with 
his  neighbour:  execute  the  judgement  of  truth 
and  peace  in  your  gates :  and  let  none  of  you 
imagine  evil  in  your  hearts  against  his  neigh- 
bour :  and  love  no  false  oath  ^.' 

(b)  Self-restrahit  in  temper.  We  must  not 
injure  one  another  in  life  and  limb,  or  wound 
one  another  in  feehngs.  Therefore  we  must 
watch  the  first  beginnings  of  anger,  as  the 
Psalmist  ^  warns  us,  lest  they  lead  to  sin  and  give 

^  Zech.  viii.  i6,  17. 

'  Ps.  iv.  4,  according  to  the  LXX.  But  the  English  version 
'  Stand  in  awe  and  sin  not '  is  probably  correct. 


i86       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

the  devil,  i.  e.  the  slanderer  of  his  brethren,  the 
inspirer  of  all  mutual  recriminations,  room  and 
scope  to  work  in. 

(c)  Labour  for  the  purpose  of  mutual  beneficence. 
Under  the  old  covenant  God  had  contented 
Himself  with  forbidding  stealing.  Under  the 
new  covenant  the  prohibition  of  what  is  wrong 
passes  into  the  injunction  of  what  is  right. 
Labour  of  whatever  kind,  labour  directed  to  pro- 
duce something  good,  is  required  of  all.  '  If  any 
man  will  not  work,  neither  let  him  eat^'  The 
idle  man  in  fact  violates  the  fundamental  con- 
ditions of  the  Christian  covenant  as  truly  as  if 
he  were  den^ang  the  rudiments  of  the  Christian 
faith.  Now  the  object  of  labouring  is  to  acquire 
'  property,'  which  is  in  one  sense  *  private,'  and 
in  another  sense  is  not.  The  labourer  may 
have,  under  his  own  free  administration,  the 
fruits  of  his  labour,  but  he  is  to  administer  his 
property  with  the  motive,  not  only  of  supporting 
himself,  but  of  helping  his  weaker  and  more 
needy  brethren. 

(d)  Profitable  speech.  Here  again  the  Chris- 
tian is  not  to  be  content  with  avoiding  noxious 
conversation.  His  talk  is  to  be,  not  indeed 
'edifying'  in  the  narrowest  sense,  but  such  as 

*  3  Thess.  iii.  lo. 


Corporate  duties  187 

^  builds  up  what  is  lacking '  in  life,  or  supplies 
a  need,  whether  by  counselling,  or  informing,  or 
refreshing,  or  cheering;  so  that  it  may  'give 
grace  \'  that  is,  afford  pleasure  and,  in  the  widest 
sense,  bring  a  blessing  to  the  hearers. 

In  all  their  conduct  Christians  are  to  have 
two  masterful  thoughts,  (i)  They  are  to  think 
of  the  divine  purpose  of  the  Hol}^  Ghost  who 
has  entered  into  the  Church  to  '  seal '  or  mark 
it  as  an  elect  body  destined  for  full  redemption 
from  all  evil,  in  body  and  soul,  at  the  climax  of 
God's  dealings,  the  last  day.  The  Holy  Ghost, 
with  all  His  personal  love,  will  be  grieved  if  we 
thwart  His  rich  purpose  for  the  whole  body 
by  anything  which  is  contrary  to  brotherhood 
in  the  thoughts  of  our  hearts,  or  the  words  of 
our  lips,  or  our  outward  conduct. 

(2)  They  are  to  remember  the  divine  pattern 
of  life.  God  has  shown  His  own  heart  to  us  in 
the  free  forgiveness  which  He  has  given  us  in 
Christ.  Being  in  constant  receipt  of  that  for- 
giveness, we  must  not  prove  ourselves  hard 
and  unforgiving  towards  one  another. 

*  Cf.  Col,  iv.  6  :  '  Let  your  speech  be  always  with  grace  *  or 
•  graciousness  ' ;  Luke  iv.  22  :  *  gracious  words' ;  Ps.  xlv.  2  :  '  Grace 
is  poured  into  thy  lips'  ;  Eccles.  x.  12:  'The  words  of  a  wise- 
man's  mouth  are  gracious';  Ecclus.  xxi.  16:  'Grace  shall  be 
found  in  the  lips  of  the  wise.' 


i88       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

Wherefore,  putting  away  falsehood,  speak  ye  truth  each 
one  with  his  neighbour :  for  we  are  members  one  of 
another.  Be  ye  angry,  and  sin  not :  let  not  the  sun  go 
down  upon  your  wrath  :  neither  give  place  to  the  devil. 
Let  him  that  stole  steal  no  more  :  but  rather  let  him 
labour,  working  with  his  hands  the  thing  that  is  good, 
that  he  may  have  whereof  to  give  to  him  that  hath  need. 
Let  no  corrupt  speech  proceed  out  of  your  mouth,  but 
such  as  is  good  for  edifying  as  the  need  may  be,  that  it 
may  give  grace  to  them  that  hear.  And  grieve  not  the 
Holy  Spirit  of  God,  in  whom  ye  were  sealed  unto  the  day 
of  redemption.  Let  all  bitterness,  and  wrath,  and  anger, 
and  clamour,  and  railing,  be  put  away  from  you,  with  all 
malice :  and  be  ye  kind  one  to  another,  tenderhearted, 
forgiving  each  other,  even  as  God  also  in  Christ  forgave 
you. 

Here,  then,  St.  Paul  sketches  cathoHcity  in 
practice.  The  very  idea  of  the  Church  is  that 
of  a  fellowship  of  naturally  unlike  individuals, 
harmonized  into  unity  by  the  new  *  truth  and 
grace '  of  God,  which  has  been  made  theirs  in 
their  regenerate  life.  It  is  this  endowment  of 
the  regenerate  life  that  is  to  enable  them  to 
transcend,  and  overstep,  and  defeat  natural  in- 
compatibilities of  temper,  and  to  be  one  body  in 
Christ.  The  practical  meaning  of  cathohcity  is 
brotherhood.  It  is  love,  as  St.  Augustine  says, 
grown  as  wide  as  the  world  \ 

Why  has  the  world   lost  this  sense   of  the 

^  See  app.  note  F,  p.  271,  The  Ethics  of  Catholicism, 


Corporate  duties  189 

moral  meaning  of  catholic  churchmanship  ? 
Why  has '  ecclesiasticar  come  to  mean  something 
quite  different  to  '  brotherly '  ?  Or  it  is  a  more 
profitable  question  to  ask,  How  shall  we  make 
it  mean  the  same  thing  again  ?  There  are  many 
who  would  give  up  the  very  effort  after  recover- 
ing the  church  principle,  the  obligation  of  the 
'one  body/  But  this,  as  has  been  said,  is 
to  abandon  the  ultimate  catholic  principle  of 
Christianity.  For  the  very  purpose  of  the  one 
church  for  all  the  men  of  faith  in  Jesus,  is  that 
the  necessity  for  belonging  to  one  body — a  ne- 
cessity grounded  on  divine  appointment — shall 
force  together  into  a  unity  men  of  all  sorts  and 
different  kinds ;  and  the  forces  of  the  new  life 
which  they  share  in  common  are  to  overcome 
their  natural  repugnance  and  antipathies,  and  to 
make  the  forbearance  and  love  and  mutual  help- 
fulness which  corporate  life  requires,  if  not  easy, 
at  least  possible  for  them. 

This  is  the  principle  which  must  not  be 
abandoned.  We  must  assert  the  theological 
principle  of  the  Church  because  it  is  that  and 
that  alone  which  can  impress  on  men  prac- 
tically the  obligation  and  possibility  of  a  catholic 
brotherhood. 

But  it  is  folly  to  assert  the  theological  truth  of 


190      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

churchmanship,  and  neglect  its  moral  meaning. 
Quite  recently  the  bishops  of  the  Lambeth 
Conference  have  striven  to  impress  anew  the 
ethics  of  churchmanship  upon  the  conscience  of 
the  faithful  ^.  The  principle  of  brotherhood  must 
act  as  a  constant  counterpoise  to  the  instinct 
of  competition.  The  principle  of  labour  shows 
that  the  idle  and  selfish  are  '  out  of  place '  in  a 
Christian  community.  The  principle  of  justice 
forces  us  to  recognize  that  the  true  interest  of 
each  member  of  the  body  politic  must  be  con- 
sulted. The  principle  of  public  responsibility 
reminds  us  that  each  one  is  his  brother's  keeper. 
Once  more  the  Church  has  been  aroused  to  its 
prophetic  task  of  'binding'  and  'loosing'  the 
consciences  of  men  in  regard  specially  to  those 
matters  which  concern  the  corporate  life  and 
the  relations  of  classes  to  one  another.  And 
we  pray  God  that  the  work  of  our  bishops  may 
not  be  in  vain.  What  we  want  is  not  more 
Christians,  but,  much  rather,  better  Christians 
— that  is  to  say,  Christians  who  have  more 
perception  of  what  the  moral  effort  required 
for  membership  in  the  cathoHc  brotherhood 
really  is. 

^  See     Report     of    Lambeth     Conference,     1897.      S.  P.  C.  K., 
pp.  136  ff.  ;  and  app.  note  G,  p.  274. 


Corporate  duties  191 


No  doubt  the  needed  social  reformation  is  of 
vast  difficulty.  For  instance,  one  who  contem- 
plates our  commercial  relations  in  the  world 
may  indeed  be  tempted  to  despair  of  the  possi- 
bility of  recovering  the  practical  application  to 
*  business '  of  the  law  of  truthfulness  ;  and  many 
a  one  who  is  practically  engaged  in  commerce, 
in  higher  or  lower  station,  finds  that  to  act  upon 
the  law  ma}^  involve  something  like  martyrdom. 
But  the  very  meaning  of  divine  faith  is  that  we 
do,  in  spite  of  all  discouragements,  hold  that  to 
be  practicable  which  is  the  will  of  God  ;  and  it 
is  nothing  new  in  the  history  of  Christianity  if 
at  a  crisis  we  need  '  the  blood  of  martyrs ' — or 
something  morally  equivalent  to  their  blood — 
for  'a  seed,'  the  seed  of  a  fresh  growth  of 
Christian  corporate  life.  No  fresh  start  worth 
making  is  possible  without  personal  sacrifices ; 
and  to  recover  anything  resembHng  St.  Paul's 
ethical  standard  for  Christian  society  we  need 
indeed  a  fresh  start.  But  the  few  Tractarians 
of  sixty  years  ago  by  industry,  patience  and 
prayer  effected  a  kind  of  revolution  in  the 
Church  as  a  whole ;  and  reformers  of  Christian 
social  relations  may  with  the  same  weapons — 
and  with  no  other— do  the  hke. 


192      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 


DIVISION  II.  §  3.    Chapter  V.  1-14. 

The  Christian  life  an  imitation  of  God  and 
a  life  in  the  light. 

St.  Paul  has  just  suggested  the  thought  of 
imitating  God  by  ready  forgiveness.  And  in  fact 
here — in  the  imitation  of  God — is  one  of  the 
greatest  of  the  new  ideas  and  motives  v^^hich 
Christianity  supplies.  God  has  manifested  Him- 
self in  Christ  under  human  conditions.  He  has 
translated  the  unimaginable  Godhead  into  terms 
of  our  own  well-known  human  nature.  For  Christ 
is  very  man,  yet  He  is  the  Son  of  God,  truly 
God,  and  His  character  is  God's  character.  For 
the  Christian  henceforth  in  a  quite  new  sense 
God  is  imitable:  He  can  become  a  pattern 
for  actual  human  life.  As  children  partly  con- 
sciously and  partly  unconsciously  imitate  their 
parents,  so  we  Christians  as  '  beloved  children ' 
are  to  '  become  imitators  of  God.' 

And  it  is  quite  plain  what  the  character  of 


The  imitation  of  God  193 

God  as  manifested  in  Christ  is.  It  is  love  ;  and 
to  imitate  God  is  therefore  to  '  walk  in  love/ 
that  is,  to  conduct  one's  life  with  love  as  its 
conscious  motive  and  atmosphere.  Moreover, 
the  love  of  Christ  is  a  love  which  shows  itself 
in  self-sacrifice.  *  He  offered  himself  as  an 
offering  and  sacrifice  to  God  on  our  behalf; 
and  God,  who  had  of  old  made  it  plain  by  His 
prophets  that  He  could  find  no  satisfaction  in 
animal  victims,  accepted  'as  a  sweet  savour' 
this  free-will  offering  of  self-sacrificing  love.  In 
the  self-sacrifice  of  Christ,  therefore,  we  have 
the  clear  disclosure  both  of  what  God  is  and  of 
what  God  will  accept  from  man. 

But  this  ideal  of  life  as  lying  in  love  and  in 
the  deliberate  self-sacrifice  of  one  for  another 
is  the  plain  negation  of  some  maxims  for  life 
generally  accepted  in  heathen  society.  It  is  the 
plain  negation  of  sensual  self-indulgence  at  the 
expense  of  others,  or  at  the  expense  of  our 
spiritual  nature,  of  '  fornication  and  uncleanness 
of  all  kinds,'  of  filthy  conduct,  of  the  sort  of 
jesting  or  wit  which  ignores  all  moral  restraints. 
It  is  the  plain  negation  again  of  selfish  greed 
or  the  unlimited  desire  to  get — '  covetousness.' 
These  things  are  out  of  the  question  for  a  body 
of  saints,  that  is,  men  dedicated  to  a  holy  God. 

o 


194      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephestans 

The  tone  and  language  which  befits  such  a 
dedicated  hfe  is  the  tone  and  language  of  thanks- 
giving. But  clearly  Asiatic  Christians  were  only 
too  ready  to  forget  the  essential  incompatibility 
of  their  new  profession  with  the  old  sinful  habits 
around  them.  So  St.  Paul  emphasizes '  This  ye 
know  for  certain  that  fornication  or  unclean 
living  on  the  one  hand,  or  the  turning  of  gain 
into  a  god  on  the  other,  surely  excludes  a  man 
from  the  kingdom  of  Christ  and  God  ^'  And  he 
reiterates  '  let  no  man  deceive  you  with  empty 
words.'  Such  vices,  being  in  plain  contradiction 
to  the  divine  will,  make  men  subjects  of  the 
divine  wrath,  and  for  3^ou  this  should  be  start- 
lingly  plain.  You  have  been  brought  out  of  the 
realm  of  darkness  of  which  once  you  formed  a 
part,  into  the  realm  of  light,  of  which  you  now 
form  a  part,  the  realm  whose  light  is  Christ. 
There  is  no  fellowship  between  the  light  and 
the  darkness  I  To  live  in  the  light  means  to 
bring  forth  fruit  of  goodness  and  righteousness 
and  truth,  the  fruit  of  a  character  like  Christ's. 
For  you  have  in  Christ  a  definite  standard  by 
which  you  can  test  what  is  well  pleasing  to  the 

^  Possibl}^  this  expression  means  '  the  kingdom  of  Him  who  is 
at  once  Christ  and  God.' 
*  2  Cor.  vi.  14. 


Life  in  the  light  195 

Lord.  It  is  your  business,  therefore,  to  keep 
yourselves  altogether  separate  from  the  works  of 
darkness  which  bear  no  fruit.  Not  only  so,  but 
it  is  your  business  to  '  reprove '  or  convict  the 
dark  world  of  sin  ;  not,  of  course,  by  making  the 
works  of  darkness  the  subjects  of  your  curiosity 
and  conversation— that  indeed  must  not  be — but 
simply  by  the  contrast  which  your  own  lives 
present.  In  the  light  of  3^our  lives  the  secret 
shame  of  the  heathen  life  will  be  unmasked. 
And  in  being  unmasked  even  the  works  of  dark- 
ness will  themselves  become  part  of  the  light. 
To  make  such  ways  of  living  attractive  they 
must  be  cloaked  up  in  a  deceitful  glamour. 
Once  stripped  bare  and  shown  in  their  true 
character  they  teach  their  true  lesson.  Thus, 
the  one  duty  of  a  man  is  to  awake  from  the  old 
sleep  of  death  ;  to  separate  himself  from  the 
morally  dead  world  and  stand  clear  in  the  light 
of  Christ.  And  that  is  what  the  early  Christian 
hymn,  which  St.  Paul  cites,  was  continually 
impressing  upon  the  Christian  conscience.  We 
may  attempt  to  reproduce  it  in  something  like  its 
original  rhythm  thus  : — 

'  Be  awakened,  thou  that  sleepest ; 
Rise  ahve  from  out  the  dead  world  ; 
Christ,  the  Light,  shall  shine  upon  thee.' 
O  2 


196      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

Be  ye  therefore  imitators  of  God,  as  beloved  children  ; 
and  walk  in  love,  even  as  Christ  also  loved  you,  and  gave 
himself  up  for  us,  an  offering  and  a  sacrifice  to  God  for 
an  odour  of  a  sweet  smell.  But  fornication,  and  all 
uncleanness,  or  covetousness,  let  it  not  even  be  named 
among  you,  as  becometh  saints  ;  nor  filthiness,  nor  foolish 
talking,  or  jesting,  which  are  not  befitting  :  but  rather 
giving  of  thanks.  For  this  ye  know  of  a  surety,  that  no 
fornicator,  nor  unclean  person,  nor  covetous  man,  which 
is  an  idolater,  hath  any  inheritance  in  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  and  God.  Let  no  man  deceive  you  with  empty 
words :  for  because  of  these  things  cometh  the  wrath  of 
God  upon  the  sons  of  disobedience.  Be  not  ye  therefore 
partakers  with  them  ;  for  ye  were  once  darkness,  but  are 
now  light  in  the  Lord  :  walk  as  children  of  light  (for  the 
fruit  of  the  light  is  in  all  goodness  and  righteousness  and 
truth),  proving  what  is  well-pleasing  unto  the  Lord  ;  and 
have  no  fellowship  with  the  unfruitful  works  of  darkness, 
but  rather  even  reprove  them ;  for  the  things  which  are 
done  by  them  in  secret  it  is  a  shame  even  to  speak  of. 
But  all  things  when  they  are  reproved  are  made  manifest 
by  the  light :  for  everything  that  is  made  manifest  is 
light.  Wherefore  he  saith.  Awake,  thou  that  sleepest, 
and  arise  from  the  dead,  and  Christ  shall  shine  upon 
thee. 


Three  points  may  be  noticed  in  this  character- 
istic exhortation  : — 

I.  The  strife  of  Hght  and  darkness.  The 
victory  of  the  rising  sun  and  its  surrender  at 
evening  to  the  darkness ;  the  obscuring  of  the 
light  through  echpse  or  mist  and  its  recovery — 


Life  in  the  light  197 

these  universal  appearances  present  themselves 
naturally  to  human  consciences  everywhere  as 
being  experiences  analogous  to  the  moral  strife 
within  between  good  and  evil.  Light  is  thus 
the  universal  symbol  of  good,  and  darkness  of 
evil.  The  symbolism  passes  out  of  early  native 
myths  into  the  spiritual  phraseology  of  many 
religions;  but  especially  into  those  of  the  Persians 
and  the  Jews.  '  In  thy  light  shall  we  see  light* 
is  the  cry  of  the  devout  heart  towards  God.  And 
the  whole  of  Christian  language  is  possessed  by 
the  symbolism.  Christ  is  '  the  light  of  the 
world ' :  His  disciples  are  '  the  children  of 
light,'  they  are  to  be  clothed  in  'the  armour 
of  light,'  bathed  in  'the  light  of  the  glorious 
Gospel ' :  they  are  the  children  of  the  God  who 
'  dwelleth  in  the  light  which  no  man  can  approach 
unto ' :  who  '  is  light  and  in  whom  is  no  darkness 
at  all.' 

St.  Paul,  like  St.  John,  specially  loves  the 
metaphor  of  light.  And  it  is  somewhat  startling 
to  notice  how  different  is  his  conception  of 
enlightenment  from  that  common  in  modern 
times,  or  indeed,  from  that  held  in  the  schools 
of  philosophy  of  his  own  day  or  by  the  Gnostics 
just  after  him.  This  latter  class  of  men,  who 
can  be  taken  as  typical  of  many  others  at  very 


T98      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

different  epochs,  meant  by  '  the  enlightened ' 
a  select  few  who  had  a  special  capacity  for 
intellectual  abstraction  and  contemplation,  and 
who  by  such  qualities  of  the  intellect  were 
beheved  to  attain  to  a  knowledge  of  God  which 
was  beyond  the  reach  of  the  ordinary  men  of 
faith.  But  St.  Paul,  following  his  Master,  is 
quite  certain  that  the  root  of  true  enlightenment 
lies  in  the  will  and  heart.  The  love  of  the  light 
is  first  of  all  simply  the  pure  desire  for  good- 
ness ;  and  anything  that  is  not  this  first  of  all  is 
a  counterfeit  and  a  sham.  And  the  true  enlighten- 
ment is  thus  not  the  privilege  of  a  few,  but  is 
open  to  all  who  will  come  to  Christ.  *  Where  is 
the  wise?  where  is  the  scribe?  where  is  the 
disputer  of  this  world?  Hath  not  God  made 
foolish  the  wisdom  of  this  world  ?  For  seeing 
that  in  the  wisdom  of  God  the  world  through 
its  wisdom  knew  not  God,  it  was  God's  good 
pleasure,  through  the  foolishness  of  the  preaching, 
to  save  them  that  believe.'  '  If  any  man  thinketh 
that  he  is  wise  among  you  in  this  world,  let  him 
become  a  fool  that  he  may  become  wise.  For 
the  wisdom  of  this  world  is  foolishness  with 
God  \'  This  language  sounds  violent ;  but  I 
doubt  if  many  thinking  men  could  now  be  found 

*  I  Cor.  i.  20,  21  ;  iii.  18. 


Life  in  the  light  199 

to  doubt  that  the  way  opened  by  the  '  foohshness 
of  the  gospel  preaching'  was  a  way  of  hght 
for  the  world  compared  to  which  the  way  of  the 
contemporary  philosophers  was  darkness  and 
delusion.  The  arrogant  wisdom  of  the  con- 
temporary 'Heracleitus'  would  have  provided 
no  real  light  at  all  for  the  Ephesians  whom  he 
denounced.  A  fresh  start  was  wanted  for  man, 
and  the  fresh  start  was  primarily  in  the  life  of 
the  conscience  and  heart.  On  the  other  hand 
neither  St.  Paul,  nor  any  of  the  New  Testament 
writers,  can  be  accused  of  the  sort  of  obscurant- 
ism to  which  the  later  Church  has  often  fallen 
a  victim.  One  cannot  even  conceive  St.  Paul 
denouncing  free  inquiry,  or  cloaking  up  from 
free  investigation  the  title-deeds  of  Christianity. 
His  love  of  the  light — even  with  all  the  dangers 
that  the  light  has— like  his  love  of  freedom,  is 
frank  and  real. 

If  we  come  down  to  our  own  time,  there  is  no 
doubt  a  great  deal  of  contemporary  '  enlighten- 
ment '  that  St.  Paul  would  have  pronounced 
spurious.  He  would  never  surely  have  dis- 
paraged intellectual  inquiry  or  free  scientific 
research :  but  he  would  have  continually 
emphasized  that  no  one  was  really  enlightened 
whose  will  and  heart  was  not  right  with  God. 


200       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

To  have  a  scientific  knowledge  of  facts  is  by 
comparison  superficial ;  and  worse  than  super- 
ficial is  the  sharpness  and  worldly  cleverness 
which  continually  boasts  of  being  '  wide  awake ' 
and  '  up  to  date/  It  is  possible  to  be  awake  and 
enlightened  in  the  speculative  and  practical 
intelligence  :  to  be  awake  and  enlightened  in  the 
region  of  the  senses :  and  yet  to  be  asleep  and 
in  the  dark  in  the  region  of  the  will  and  con- 
science towards  God.  And  there  lies  the  true 
heart  of  manhood.  It  is  possible  even  to  be 
enlightened  about  evil  and  in  the  dark  as  regards 
goodness.  But  St.  Paul  hates  curiosity  about 
the  ways  and  methods  of  sin.  '  I  would,'  he 
says,  *  have  you  wise  unto  that  which  is  good, 
and  simple  unto  that  which  is  evil  \'  Take  heed 
that  the  light  that  is  in  thee  be  not  darkness. 
This  curiosity  about  sin  is  a  delusion  which  has 
sometimes  a  strange  hold  on  some  who  would 
serve  God.  But  they  must  recognize  that  the 
only  Christian  method  of '  convicting  the  world 
of  sin '  is  by  *  convicting  it  of  righteousness.' 
Innocence  has  a  power  which  sometimes  is 
strangely  underrated. 

We  may  pause  for  a  moment  longer  to  dwell 
on  the  beauty  of  St.  Paul's  ideal  of  Christianity 

*  Rom.  xvi.  19. 


Life  in  the  light  201 

as  a  life  in  the  light.  It  has  everything  to  gain 
and  nothing  to  lose  by  disclosure.  It  has  no 
need  to  cloak  itself.  It  can  be  frank  with  itself 
and  the  world.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  sin  is 
a  great  fraud  and  delusion  as  well  as  a  great 
disobedience.  It  dwells  in  a  region  of  lies  and 
excuses  and  concealments ;  it  hides  from  itself 
and  from  the  world  its  true  character  and  true 
issues.  For,  in  fact,  it  is  not  only  in  itself  foul 
and  rebellious,  but  it  is  in  its  issues  fruitless.  It 
leads  to  nothing :  it  produces  nothing :  it  tends 
only  to  decay  or  corruption  of  mind  and  body, 
while  goodness  is  only  another  term  for  life  and 
fruitfulness.  Life,  and  the  production  of  life,  is 
the  good,  and  it  belongs  to  the  light ;  on  the  con- 
trary, what  hinders  or  destroys  life  goes  against 
God  and  belongs  to  the  darkness.  This  is  a 
judgement  which  mis-called  disciples  of  Malthus 
in  our  day  would  do  well  to  remember.  It  is  not 
from  too  much  hfe  that  the  world  is  suffering, 
but  from  corrupt  and  perverted  life.  What  we 
want  to  secure  is  not  a  limit  to  the  population, 
but  the  bringing  up  of  children  in  health  and 
simple  living,  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of 
the  Lord. 

2.  St.  Paul,  in  some  passages  of  his  epistles, 
uses  very  strongly  '  universalist '  phrases.     He 


202       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

has  spoken  to  the  Ephesians  of  bringing  all 
things  in  heaven  and  earth  again  into  a  divine 
unity  in  Christ.  And  to  the  Corinthians  he 
spoke  of  a  time  when  God  should  be  *  all  things 
in  all.'  It  is,  therefore,  all  the  more  noticeable 
that  when  he  comes  to  speak  of  the  destiny  of 
evil  men  he  does  not  offer  them  any  hope  if  they 
persist  in  their  evil,  but  warns  them  that  moral 
evil  utterly  and  wholly  excludes  from  the  king- 
dom of  God :  and  he  appears  to  be  not  at  all 
anxious  to  reconcile  this  warning  as  to  the 
eternal  consequences  of  wilful  evil  with  what  he 
has  said  in  other  connexions  as  to  the  final 
inclusion  of  all  things  in  a  great  unity.  His 
example  would  teach  us  to  aim  at  being  true  to 
the  whole  truth  rather  than  at  attaining  a  pre- 
mature completeness  or  consistency  of  know- 
ledge about  a  world  in  regard  to  which  we  only 
*  know  in  part.'  *  Yea,  the  more  part  of  God's 
works  are  hid  \' 

3.  We  cannot  fail  to  notice  how  constantly 
St.  Paul  associates  lawless  lust  with  lawless 
grasping  at  money  or  the  goods  of  other  men — 
greediness  or  avarice.  This  has  led  some  to 
suppose  that  the  Greek  word  for  greediness 
is  really  intended  to  mean  lust  in  its  grasping 

^  Ecclus.  xvi.  21. 


Life  in  the  light  203 

character.  But  this  is  a  mistake.  The  words 
are  associated  partly,  no  doubt,  because  lust  so 
often  involves  an  '  overreaching  and  wronging 
our  brothers  ^  ^  of  their  just  rights ;  but  much 
more  because  the  lawless  grasping  after  gain 
and  the  lawless  grasping  after  pleasure  are  the 
two  great  perversions  of  the  human  soul. 
Pleasure  and  mammon  are  the  two  typical  idols. 

^  I  Thess.  iv.  6. 


204      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 


DIVISION  II.  §  4.     Chapter  V.  15-21. 

The  Christian  life  a  zealous  and  deliberate  seizing 
of  the  opportunity  afforded  by  surrounding 
moral  evils. 

The  Christian  stands  awake  and  in  the  light. 
He  has  a  vantage-ground  of  spiritual  knowledge, 
and  the  opportunity  afforded  by  this  vantage- 
ground  he  is  to  use.  He  is  not  to  live  at  random 
but  is  to  fashion  his  life  with  dehberate  circum- 
spection and  prudence  in  order  to  make  the  best 
of  the  spiritual  opportunity,  just  as  the  merchant 
cleverly  seizes  and  uses  to  his  own  advantage 
a  particular  commercial  situation.  What  gives 
the  Christian  his  spiritual  opportunity  is  the 
corruption  which  surrounds  him.  Of  that  cor- 
ruption St.  Paul  has  already  said  enough.  The 
result  of  it  was  to  leave  whatever  was  good  in 
man  disconsolate  and  ill  at  ease.  The  exhibition 
of  the  Christian  light  amidst  such  surroundings 
could  not  but  arrest  men's  attention  and  attract 


Buying  up  the  opportunity         205 

their  hearts.  And  if  we  want  to  be  informed,  in 
greater  detail,  how  to  buy  up  the  opportunity, 
St  Paul's  answer  is  threefold. 

First,  there  must  be  a  positive  apprehension 
of  the  divine  will  in  particular  cases  such  as 
qualifies  for  decisive  action.  *  Be  not  foolish, 
but  understand  what  the  will  of  the  Lord  is.' 
This  is  the  sort  of  wisdom  which  enables  a  man 
to  do  what  our  Lord  expects  of  spiritual  leaders, 
to  'discern  the  time.'  It  is  a  rare  quality  but, 
according  to  the  measure  of  the  gift  of  Christ  to 
each,  it  is  attained  by  spiritual  thoughtfulness, 
singlemindedness,  and  prayer. 

Secondly,  there  is  to  be  a  strong  and  sociable 
enthusiasm,  expressing  itself  in  uninterrupted 
joy,  and  based  upon  deep  draughts  of  the  divine 
Spirit.  In  St.  Paul's  da}^,  as  in  our  own,  men 
would  seek  escape  from  the  dullness  of  life  and 
its  sense  of  isolation  in  the  excitement  and 
fellowship  which  comes  of  intoxicating  drink. 
Other  forms  of  mental  intoxication  were  pro- 
vided at  Ephesus  by  a  sensual  religious  enthu- 
siasm. St.  Paul  would  have  the  Christians 
confront  such  lawless  excitement  not  merely 
with  the  spectacle  of  discipline  and  self-restraint, 
but  also  with  a  counter- enthusiasm,  purer  but 
not  less  strong.     Christians  are  to  find  an  ex- 


2o6      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

citement  as  strong  as  drunkenness,  and  a  fellow- 
ship as  warm  as  is  to  be  found  in  any  band  of 
revellers,  in  deep  draughts  of  the  wine  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  '  Be  not  drunken  with  wine 
wherein  is  riot,  but  be  filled  with  the  Spirit, 
speaking  one  to  another  in  psalms  ^  and  hymns 
and  spiritual  songs  (such  as  the  one  he  has  just 
quoted),  singing  and  making  melody  with  your 
hearts  to  the  Lord/ 

Lastly,  there  is  to  be  a  spirit  of  submission, 
mutual  accommodation  and  order.  The  dis- 
ciples are  to  '  subject  themselves  one  to  another 
in  the  fear  of  Christ.'  They  are,  as  St.  Peter 
says  ^,  to  be  girt  each  one  with  the  apron  of 
service  to  minister  to  one  another's  needs, 
knowing  their  responsibility  to  Christ,  and  how 
He  looks  for  obedience  and  service  in  all  men. 
Enthusiasm  is  apt  to  be  lawless,  but  the  enthu- 
siasm of  the  Christians  is  to  be  the  enthusiasm 
of  an  organized  body.  It  was  said  of  old  of 
the  men  of  Issachar,  who  gathered  round  the 
standard  of  David  ^,  that  they  had  *  under- 
standing of  the  times  to  know  what  Israel  ought 

*  St.  Paul  is  in  part  referring  to  the  habit  of  responsive  or  anti- 
phonal  chanting,  which  Pliny,  the  governor  of  Bithynia,  reports  as 
characteristic  of  the  Christians  half  a  century  later — '  to  sing 
responsively  (secum  invicem)  a  hymn  to  Christ  as  a  God.' 

^  I  Pet.  V.  5.  3  I  Chron.  xii.  32. 


Buying  tip  the  opportunity         207 

to  do ;  the  heads  of  them  were  two  hundred, 
and  all  their  brethren  were  at  their  command- 
ment.' A  similar  spirit  of  practical  religious 
understanding,  with  a  similar  readiness  to  obey 
their  leaders,  is  what  St.  Paul  desires  in  the  new 
Israel  to  do  the  work  of  the  true  Son  of  David. 

A  temper  then  of  clear  positive  understanding 
as  to  what  God  wills  to  be  done  in  the  imme- 
diate future,  fired  by  an  ardent  and  sociable 
enthusiasm,  and  associated  with  a  disinterested 
readiness  to  obey  one  another  in  practical  affairs 
— this  is  what  St.  Paul  means  by  '  looking  care- 
fully how  we  walk  ' ;  and  it  is  worth  while 
noticing  that  St.  PauTs  conception  of  carefulness 
leads  in  a  direction  quite  opposed  to  mere 
timorous  and  negative  prudence.  Exhortations 
not  to  be  rash,  but  to  'look  before  you  leap,' 
are  very  commonly  given  by  the  wise.  But  it 
does  not  seem  to  be  generally  remembered  that, 
at  least  in  the  service  of  God,  most  men  err 
by  excess  not  of  rashness  but  of  caution,  and 
'  look '  so  long  that  they  never  '  leap.'  Truly  if 
rashness  has  slain  its  thousands,  irresolution 
has  slain  its  ten  thousands.  The  spirit  St.  Paul 
would  have  us  cultivate  is  not  this  cowardly 
mis-called  wisdom,  but  rather  the  spirit  of  the 
ideal  soldier,  of  the  '  happy  warrior.'     Nothing, 


2o8       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

in  fact,  could  be  more  fascinating  than  the 
picture  St.  Paul  here  draws  of  the  Christian 
community.  He  has  a  vision  of  a  pure 
brotherly  enthusiastic  society,  fulfilled  with  a 
divine  life,  and  attracting  into  its  warm  and 
comfortable  fellowship  the  isolated,  weary, 
hopeless,  and  sin  stained  from  the  cold  dark 
world  outside. 

Look  therefore  carefully  how  ye  walk,  not  as  unwise, 
but  as  wise;  redeeming  the  time,  because  the  days  are 
evil.  Wherefore  be  ye  not  foolish,  but  understand  what 
the  will  of  the  Lord  is.  And  be  not  drunken  with  wine, 
wherein  is  riot,  but  be  filled  with  the  Spirit ;  speaking 
one  to  another  in  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs, 
singing  and  making  melody  with  your  heart  to  the  Lord  ; 
giving  thanks  always  for  all  things  in  the  name  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  God,  even  the  Father;  subjecting 
yourselves  one  to  another  in  the  fear  of  Christ. 


St.  Paul's  exhortation  to  '  buy  up  the  oppor- 
tunity because  the  days  are  evil'  finds  fresh 
application  in  every  generation.  For  each 
generation  the  '  days  are  evil,'  and  good  men 
always  feel  them  to  be  so.  Not  necessarily  that 
they  are  evil  by  comparison  with  other  days,  for 
the  *  good  old  times '  certainly  never  existed,  and 
it  is  not  often  possible  to  balance  the  evils  of 
one  age  against  those  of  another.     It  is  enough 


Buying  up  the  opportunity        209 

for  us  to  understand  'the  ills  we  have.'  What 
they  are  in  our  own  generation  is  conspicuous 
enough.  In  part  they  are  the  normal  evils  of 
selfishness,  and  sensuality,  and  pride,  and  weak- 
ness; of  divisions  of  races  and  classes,  and 
personal  uncharity.  In  part  they  are  special : 
I  will  not  make  any  general  attempt  to  cha- 
racterize them  here.  But  it  is  probably  true  to 
say  that,  among  other  characteristics  which  our 
generation  exhibits,  is  a  lack  of  great  enthusiasms 
and  strong  convictions  and  inspiring  leaders. 
Literature,  philosophy,  and  politics  are  alike 
lacking  in  a  clear  moral  impulse.  '  Causes ' 
are  at  a  discount.  Men  are  disillusionized.  It 
is  a  'fin  de  siecle'  by  some  better  title  than  a 
chronological  mistake.  It  is  this  characteristic 
of  the  moment  that  ought  to  give  the  Church 
its  opportunity.  At  present  she  largely  fails  to 
take  it  because  she  lacks  concentration  within 
her  own  body.  The  true  disciples,  the  faithful 
remnant,  exist  in  every  place,  but  they  are  lost 
in  the  crowd.  They  need  to  be  drawn  together 
if  they  are  to  make  an  impression.  A  vigorous 
faith,  and  the  confident  hope  for  humanity  which 
a  vigorous  faith  begets,  were  never  better  cal- 
culated than  they  are  to-day  to  produce  a  right 
moral    impression  on  the  world,  owing  to  the 

p 


210      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

mere  absence  of  rival  enthusiasms.  We  can 
supply  what  is  wanted  if  only  ever3rwhere  we 
will  cultivate  sincerity  and  enthusiasm  rather 
than  numbers,  and  aim  at  forming  strong  centres 
of  spiritual  life,  rather  than  a  weak  uniform 
diffusion  of  it. 


The  law  of  subordination 


211 


DIVISION  II.  §  5.    Chapters  V.  22- VI.  9. 

The  relation  of  husbands  and  wives :  parents  and 
children :  masters  and  servants. 

St.  Paul  mentions  submission  as  required,  in 
a  sense,  from  all  Christians  towards  all  others — 
'  submitting  yourselves  one  to  another.'  But  it 
is  plain  that  in  any  community,  and  most  of  all 
in  a  Christian  community  Vv^here  order  is  a  divine 
principle,  some  will  be  specially  *  under  authority ' : 
and  accordingly  St.  Paul  applies  his  general 
maxim  to  three  classes  in  particular — wives  to- 
wards their  husbands,  children  towards  their 
parents,  slaves  towards  their  masters.  But  in 
making  these  applications  of  the  law  of  obedience, 
he  enlarges  his  subject  by  including  the  counter- 
balancing principle  of  the  duty  of  self-sacrificing 
love  on  the  part  of  those  in  authority;  so  that 
he  treats  not  one  side  of  the  relation  only  but 
both. 

p  2 


212      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

A.    Husbands  and  Wives.    (V.  22-33.) 

Wives  are  to  be  subordinate  to  their  husbands 
as  to  the  Lord.  Just  as  the  divine  fatherhood 
is  the  ground  of  all  lower  fatherhood,  so  the 
authority  of  the  one  great  Head  is  the  ground 
in  all  lower  headships,  and  each  in  its  place  is  to 
be  accepted  as  the  shadow  of  His.  Thus  the 
husband's  headship  over  his  wife  is  the  shadow 
of  Christ's  headship  over  the  church,  and  that 
explains  of  what  sort  the  husband's  authority 
should  be.  For  Christ's  rule  is  a  rule  for  the 
advantage  of  the  ruled.  He  rules  the  church 
as  Himself  its  saviour  or  deliverer  from  bond- 
age, and  the  word  '  saviour '  is  full  of  associations 
of  self-sacrificing  love.  So  must  it  be  with  a 
Christian  husband.  But  Christ  is  not  merely 
a  head  to  the  church.  He  too  is  a  husband. 
This  idea  of  God  as  the  husband  of  His  people — 
an  idea  which  expressed  both  His  choice  of 
them.  His  love  for  them,  and  His  jealous  claim 
upon  them — is  familiar  in  the  Old  Testament. 
'Thy  Maker  is  thy  husband.'  '  I  am  a  husband 
unto  you,  saith  the  Lord\'  And  it  is  probable, 
as  Dr.  Cheyne  suggests,  '  that  the  so-called 
Song  of  Solomon  was  admitted  into  the  canon 

'  Is.  liv.  5 ;  Jer.  iii,  14. 


Husbands  and  wives  213 

on  the  ground  that  the  bride  of  the  poem  sym- 
boHzed  the  chosen  people  ^*  But  in  a  Christian 
sense  the  idea  gains  a  fresh  meaning.  '  We  that 
are  joined  unto  the  Lord  are  of  one  spirit  *  with 
Him 2.  We  are  the  'members  of  his  body'; 
and,  as  drawing  our  Hfe  from  His  manhood,  we 
may  be  even  said  to  be,  Hke  Eve  from  Adam, 
'of  his  flesh  and  of  his  bones  ^/  Christ  then 
is,  in  this  richness  of  meaning,  the  husband 
of  the  church. 

St.  Paul  seems  further  to  describe  this  rela- 
tion of  Christ  to  the  church  under  the  figure 
of  three  marriage  customs.  The  husband  first 
acquires  the  object  of  his  affection  as  his  bride 
by  a  dowry :  then  by  a  bath  of  purification  the 
bride  is  prepared  for  the  husband  :  finally  she  is 
presented  to  him  in  bridal  beauty.  Accordingly 
Christ,  because  He  loved  the  church,  first  '  gave 
himself  for  her  * ;  and  we  may  interpret  this 
phrase  in  the  hght  of  another  used  by  St.  Paul 
in  his  speech  to  the  Ephesian  elders,  where 
the   church   is    spoken    of  as   'purchased'  or 

^  Prophecies  of  Isaiah,  vol.  ii,  p.  i88.  "  i  Cor.  vi.  17. 

'  This,  it  is  well  known,  was  read  in  the  Old  Version.  It  has 
vanished  (in  submission  to  the  verdict  of  the  best  MSS.)  from  the 
R.  v.  But  there  seems  to  me  to  be  some  force  in  Alford's  plea 
for  the  originality  of  the  words,  as  they  stand  in  '  W^estern  '  and 
later  texts. 


214       'The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

*  acquired^'  by  Christ's  blood.  Having  thus  ac- 
quired the  Church  for  His  bride,  He  secondly 
'cleansed  her  in  the  laver^  of  water  with  the 
word ':  and  that,  in  order  that  He  might '  sanctify 
her '  and  so  finally  *  present  the  church  to  him- 
self a  glorious  church,  not  having  spot  or  wrinkle 
or  any  such  thing ;  but  that  it  should  be  holy 
and  without  blemish/ 

This  threefold  statement  has  great  theological 
interest  which  we  will  consider  shortly.  Here 
we  will  simply  let  it  stand,  as  St.  Paul  uses  it,  to 
exhibit  Christ  as  the  ideal  husband,  the  pattern 
for  every  husband.  Love  for  his  bride ;  self- 
sacrifice  in  order  to  win  her ;  and  the  deliberate 
aiming  at  moral  perfection  for  her  through  the 
bridal  union — that  is  the  law  for  him.  The  wife, 
according  to  the  original  divine  principle,  is  to  be 
part  of  the  man's  self— one  flesh  with  him.  He 
must  love  her  truly  and  care  for  her  as  his  own 
flesh.  This  '  mystery,'  or  divine  secret  revealed, 
is  great,  St.  Paul  says ;  '  but  in  saying  this  I  am 
thinking  of  Christ  and  his  church.'  This  seems 
to  be  the  exact  force  of  verse  32.  In  other 
words— this  divine  disclosure  of  the  relation 
of  God  to  man,  as  realized  in  the  marriage  of 
Christ  and  His  church,  is  indeed  great  and  lofty. 

^  Acts  XX.  a8.  »  'Washing.'     Marg.  ' laver.' 


Husbands  mid  wives  215 

But,  St.  Paul  continues  in  effect,  great  and 
lofty  as  it  is,  it  is  a  practical  pattern  for  us.  Do 
ye  also,  as  Christ  the  church,  severally  love  each 
one  his  own  wife  even  as  himself,  and  let  the  wife 
see  that  she  fear  (i.  e.  reverence  and  fear  to 
displease)  her  husband,  even  as  the  church 
stands  in  holy  awe  of  Christ. 

Wives,  be  in  subjection  unto  your  own  husbands,  as 
unto  the  Lord.  For  the  husband  is  the  head  of  the  wife, 
as  Christ  also  is  the  head  of  the  church,  being  himself  the 
saviour  of  the  body.  But  as  the  church  is  subject  to 
Christ,  so  let  the  wives  also  be  to  their  husbands  in  every- 
thing. Husbands,  love  your  wives,  even  as  Christ  also 
loved  the  church,  and  gave  himself  up  for  it ;  that  he 
might  sanctify  it,  having  cleansed  it  by  the  washing  of 
water  with  the  word,  that  he  might  present  the  church  to 
himself  a  glorious  church,,  not  having  spot  or  wrinkle  or 
any  such  thing ;  but  that  it  should  be  holy  and  without 
blemish.  Even  so  ought  husbands  also  to  love  their  own 
wives  as  their  own  bodies.  He  that  loveth  his  own  wife 
loveth  himself :  for  no  man  ever  hated  his  own  flesh  ;  but 
nourisheth  and  cherisheth  it,  even  as  Christ  also  the 
church  ;  because  we  are  members  of  his  body.  For  this 
cause  shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  mother,  and  shall 
cleave  to  his  wife ;  and  the  twain  shall  become  one  flesh. 
This  mystery  is  great :  but  I  speak  in  regard  of  Christ 
and  of  the  church.  Nevertheless  do  ye  also  severally 
love  each  one  his  own  wife  even  as  himself;  and  /^/ the 
wife  see  that  she  fear  her  husband. 

There  are  several  points   here  which   need 
consideration. 


2i6       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

I.  There  is  a  rich  theology  in  St.  Paul's  brief 
description  of  the  relation  of  Christ  to  the 
church.  First,  there  is  Christ's  love  for  the 
church  which  involves  a  purpose  of  entire 
sanctification  for  her ;  then  there  is  sacrifice,  the 
sacrifice  of  Himself,  for  her ;  then  there  is 
the  baptismal  purification  of  the  church  to  fit 
her  for  Christ,  which  is  in  fact  nothing  else 
than  the  baptismal  purification  of  all  the  in- 
dividual members  of  the  Christian  body;  and 
this  is  also,  as  St.  Paul  elsewhere  teaches,  the 
means  to  them  of  new  life  by  union  with 
Himself  It  is  their  cleansing  bath  because 
therein  they  are  'baptized  into  Christ.'  (Here, 
we  notice,  the  analogy  of  the  marriage  custom 
breaks  down :  what  is  in  the  marriage  cere- 
monies only  a  washing  preparatory  to  union, 
is  in  the  spiritual  counterpart  also  the  act  of 
union.  Baptism  is  both  the  abandonment  of 
the  old  and  union  with  the  new.)  Lastly,  there 
is  the  final  presentation  by  Christ  of  the  church 
to  Himself  in  sinless,  stainless  perfection. 

We  observe  that  Christ's  sacrifice  is  regarded 
by  St.  Paul  as  preparatory  and  relative.  He 
bought  the  church  by  the  sacrifice  of  Himself 
to  obtain  unimpeded  rights  over  her,  because 
He  loved  her  and  in  order  to  make  her  morally 


Husbands  and  wives  217 

perfect.  The  atonement  has  its  value  because 
it  is  the  removal  of  the  obstacles  to  Christ 
working  His  positive  moral  work  in  her. 

We  observe  again  that  the  sacrifice  of  Christ 
is  spoken  of  as  offered  for  the  church,  not  for 
the  world.  Christ  does  indeed  'will  that  all 
men  shall  be  saved' :  He  did  indeed  '  take  away/ 
or  take  up  and  expiate,  *  the  sin  of  the  world  * 
in  its  totality  1.  But  the  divine  method  is  that 
men  shall  attain  their  salvation  as  *  members  of 
Christ's  body.'  Thus,  if  Christ's  ultimate  object 
in  the  divine  sacrifice  is  the  world :  His  im- 
mediate object  is  the  church  through  which 
He  acts  upon  the  world  and  into  which  He 
calls  every  man.  '  I  pray,'  He  said,  *  not  for  the 
world,  but  for  them  whom  thou  hast  given  me.' 
'  He  gave  himself  for  us  that  he  might  redeem 
us  .  .  .  and  purify  unto  himself  a  people  for  his 
own  possession  ^.' 

Once  more  we  notice  in  this  passage  a  signi- 
ficant hint  as  to  St.  Paul's  conception  of  baptism. 
There  is  no  doubt  of  the  spiritual  efficacy  which 
he  assigns  to  it.  And  we  observe  in  germ  a 
doctrine  of  'matter'  and  'form'  in  connexion 
with  the  sacraments.  Baptism  is  a  '  washing  of 
water'  accompanied   by  a  'word.'    The  word 

*  John  i.  29.  2  John  xvii.  9 ;  Tit.  ii.  14. 


2i8       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

or  utterance  which  St.  Paul  refers  to  may  be 
the  formula  of  baptism  *  into  the  name  of  the 
Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost/ 
or  the  '  word  of  faith '  of  which  confession  is 
made  by  the  person  to  be  baptized— the  con- 
fession that  'Jesus  is  the  Lord^';  but  in  either 
case  the  word  gives  the  rational  interpretation 
to  the  act.  It  sets  apart  what  would  be  other- 
wise hke  any  other  act  of  washing,  and  stamps 
it  for  a  spiritual  and  holy  purpose.  '  Take  away 
the  word,  and  what  is  the  water  but  mere  water  ? 
The  word  is  superadded  to  the  natural  element 
and  it  becomes  a  sacrament.'  So  says  St. 
Augustine^,  in  the  spirit  of  St.  Paul.  This  is 
what  is  meant  by  the  later  theological  term 
'  form  V  the  '  form '  being  that  which  dif- 
ferentiates or  determines  shapeless  'matter' 
and  makes  it  have  a  certain  significance  or 
gives  it  a  certain  character.  Thus  the  form  of 
a  sacrament  is  the  word  of  divine  appointment 
which  gives  it  spiritual  significance ;  and  the 
form  and  matter  together  are  essential  to  its 
validity.  The  matter  of  baptism  is  the  washing 
by  water :  the  form  is  the  defining  phrase  '  I 

^  Rom.  X.  9  ;  cp.  Acts  xxii.  i6. 

^  In  Joan,  tract,  80.     Cf.  Irenaeus  c.  haer.  v.  2,  3. 

^  See  St.  Thorn.  Aq.,  Summa,  Pars  iii.  Qu.  Ixx.  art.  6  ad  2. 


Husbands  and  wives  219 

baptize  (or  wash)  thee  into  the  name  of  the 
Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.' 

Lastly,  we  notice  that  the  spiritual  union  of 
Christ  and  His  church,  though  it  is  perfect  in 
the  divine  intention  from  the  first,  is  in  fact  only 
consummated  at  the  point  where  the  church 
is  freed  from  the  imperfection  of  sin  and  has 
become  the  stainless  counterpart  of  Christ 
Himself.  The  love  of  Christ — the  removal  of 
obstacles  to  His  love  by  atoning  sacrifice — the 
act  of  spiritual  purification— the  gradual  sancti- 
fication — the  consummated  union  in  glory : 
these  are  the  moments  of  the  divine  process  of 
redemption,  viewed  from  the  side  of  Christ, 
which  St.  Paul  specifies. 

2.  We  come  back  to  St.  Paul's  conception  of 
marriage  to  dissipate  misconceptions.  It  is 
indeed  absurd  to  speak  as  if  St.  Paul  were,  in 
this  passage,  mainly  emphasizing  the  subjection 
of  the  woman,  whether  this  be  done  from  the 
conservative  side  '  to  keep  women  in  their  place ' : 
or  from  the  point  of  view  of  those  who  desire 
her  emancipation,  in  order  to  represent  St.  Paul, 
and  so  Christianity  as  a  whole,  as  giving  to 
women  a  servile  position.  Over  against  the 
subjection  of  women,  he  sets,  and  indeed  gives 
more    space    to    emphasize,    the    self-sacrifice 


220       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

and  service  which  is  due  to  her  from  the  man. 
You  cannot  tear  the  one  from  the  other.  Like 
St.  Peter  so  St.  Paul  would  have  the  husband 
'give  honour  to  the  wife — as  to  the  weaker 
vessel'  indeed,  but  also  as  'joint  heir  of  the  grace 
of  life^.'  In  essential  spiritual  value  men  and 
v^omen  are  equal.  '  In  Christ  is  neither  male 
nor  female.'  St.  Chrysostom  rightly  bases  on 
this  passage  a  powerful  appeal  to  husbands  to 
overcome  their  selfishness  in  their  relation 
to  their  wives.  There  is  nothing  servile  in  the 
subordination  required  of  the  woman  ^.  If  *  the 
husband  is  the  head  of  the  wife,  the  head  of 
the  husband  is  Christ,  and  the  head  of  Christ 
is  God.'  Christ  even  is  subordinate.  And  the 
character    of   the    headship    of    the    husband 

^  I  Pet.  iii.  7. 

2  It  is  noticeable  that  St.  Paul  does  not  (according  to  the  Revised 
Version  which  represents  the  original)  exactly  enjoin  obedience  upon 
wives  (as  upon  children  and  slaves)  but  subjection  :  cf.  Col.  iii.  18  ; 
1  Cor.  xiv.  34  ;  i  Tim.  ii.  11,  12  ;  i  Pet.  iii.  i.  If  however  in  the 
use  of  the  *  obey '  in  the  vow  of  the  wife  our  marriage  service 
goes  an  almost  imperceptible  stage  beyond  St.  Paul,  its  general 
tone  preserves  St.  Paul's  balance  admirably.  The  husband  '  wor- 
ships '  the  wife  and  endows  her  with  all  his  worldly  goods.  The 
only  other  ecclesiastical  formula  of  ours  in  which  the  word 
worship  is  used  of  a  purely  human  relation,  is  the  peer's  oath  of 
allegiance  to  the  sovereign  at  the  coronation,  '  I  do  become  your 
liegeman  of  life  and  limb  and  of  earthly  worship :  and  faith  and 
troth  I  will  bear  unto  you  to  live  and  to  die  against  all  manner 
of  folks.' 


Husbands  and  wives  221 

altogether  excludes  the  idea  that  women  are 
to  be  married  in  order  to  serve  men's  selfish 
interests  or  gratify  their  passions. 

Then  we  must  notice  that  St.  Paul  is  im- 
pressing upon  us  a  moral  ideal  of  which  the 
two  parts  are  inseparable.  St.  Paul  says  no- 
thing to  indicate  that  where  the  relations  are 
not  ideal  — where  the  husband  is  selfish  or 
brutal — law  should  not  step  in  to  protect  the 
interests  of  the  wife  and  secure  her  against 
the  insults  or  cruelties  or  frauds  of  the  husband. 
He  is  expressing  a  moral  ideal  ^ ;  while  law  must 
be  largely  content  with  preventing  outrage  and 
securing  a  background  on  which  ideals  can 
become  possible.  And  just  as  St.  Paul  tells 
Christians  that  they  are  to  obey  magistrates  as 
God's  ministers — leaving  it  to  be  understood  that 
when  they  command  what  is  contrary  to  God's 
will,  '  we  ought  to  obey  God  rather  than  men ' ; 
so  in  the  same  way  he  speaks  of  the  wife's  (or 
child's  or  slave's)  duty  of  subjection,  leaving  a 
similar  reservation  likewise  to  be  tacitly  under- 
stood.    Obedience  is  to  be  '  in  the  Lord.' 

3.  But  no  doubt  St.  Paul  does  emphasize 
the  subordination  of  women  to  men.     He  will 

^  How  many  husbands  are  capable  of  '  teaching  their  wives  at 
home  '  about  religion  ?  see  i  Cor.  xiv.  35. 


222 


The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 


not  ordinarily^  permit  the  woman  *to  teach  (in 
the  public  assembly)  nor  to  have  dominion  over 
a  man^.'  He  clearly  does  not  think  the  dif- 
ference of  male  and  female  is  merely  physical, 
but  perceives  that  the  characteristic  moral 
perils  of  the  sexes ^  are  different:  he  assigns 
to  man  the  governing  and  authoritative  position, 
and  to  woman  the  more  retired  and  *  quieter  * ' 
functions.  It  may  indeed  be  argued  that  in 
certain  details  St.  Paul's  injunctions  are  for  his 
time  only,  and  no  more  of  perpetual  obligation 
than  his  prohibition  of  second  marriages  to  the 
clergy  is  assumed  to  be,  or  his  quasi-recogni- 
tion  of  slavery.  But  this  argument  carries  us 
but  a  little  way.  The  most  of  what  St.  Paul 
says  of  men  and  women  is  based  on  a  principle 
which  he  conceives  to  be  divine,  and  which  all 
history  and  experience  confirms.  The  position 
of  women  in  Christendom  has  often  fallen  far 
short  of  what  is  truly  Christian :  but  no 
attempted  rectification  will  be  found  otherwise 
than  disastrous  which  ignores  the  fundamental 
principle.  All  through  the  animal  kingdom 
mental  differences  accompany  the  physiological 
difference  between  the  sexes.  Experience  teaches 

^  See  however  below,  p.  225. 

^  I  Tim.  ii.  12  ;  i  Cor.  xiv.  34,  35.  ^  i  Tim.  ii.  8,  9. 

*  I  Tim.  ii.  m^  12  ;  cf.  i  Pet.  iii.  4. 


Husbands  and  wives  223 

that  women,  as  a  whole,  are  superior  to  men  in 
certain  moral  qualities — in  self-sacrifice,  sympathy, 
purity,  and  compassion,  and  in  religious  feeling, 
reverence  and  devotion :  but  inferior  to  them 
in  the  moral  qualities  which  are  concerned 
with  government — in  justice,  love  of  truth  and 
judgement,  in  stabiht}^  and  reasonableness.  In- 
tellectually women  have  very  often  greater  quick- 
ness of  apprehension  and  memory,  greater 
power  in  learning  languages,  greater  artistic 
sensibility.  But  they  are  conspicuously  in- 
ferior in  the  constructive  imagination,  in  creative 
genius,  in  philosophy  and  science.  It  is  some- 
times said  that  if  women  had  been  as  well 
educated  as  men — and  assuredly  on  Christian 
principles  they  ought  to  be,  if  differently,  yet 
equally  well  educated — they  would  have  created 
as  much.  Why,  then,  have  almost  no  women 
been  poets  of  the  first  order,  or  musical  com- 
posers, or  painters  ?  For  in  these  artistic  walks 
of  life  their  education  has  been  in  many  countries 
better  and  more  continuous.  To  maintain  that 
men  and  women  are  only  physiologically  dif- 
ferent is  to  run  one's  head  against  the  brick  wall 
of  fact  and  science,  no  less  than  against  St.  PauFs 
and  St.  Peter's  principles  ^ 

^  All  this  has  been  admirably  stated  by  George  Romanes,  whom 
no  one  could  accuse  of  misogyny,  in  his  essay  on   'the  mental 


224       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephestans 

It  remains  true  that 

'  women  is  not  undevelopt  man 
But  diverse  .  .  .  seeing  either  sex  alone 
Is  half  itself,  and  in  true  marriage  lies 
Nor  equal,  nor  unequaP.' 

4.  It  is  necessary  to  add  something  about  the 
position  assigned  by  St.  Paul,  in  other  epistles, 
to  unmarried  women ;  and  to  notice  the 
relation  of  his  '  theory  of  women '  to  earlier 
Jewish  ideas  and  those  current  in  general 
society. 

Nothing  could  well  exceed  the  influence  or 
nobility  of  the  position  of  the  Jewish  wife  and 
mistress  of  the  household,  as  it  is  given,  for 
example,  in  the  Book  of  Proverbs  ^.  That 
position  St.  Paul  can  perpetuate  and  deepen, 
but  hardly  augment.  And  the  Old  Testament 
recognized  an  altogether  exceptional  position  in 
certain  women  endowed  with  the  gift  of  pro- 
phecy, like  Miriam  and  Deborah  and  Huldah, 
who  in  virtue  of  their  gift  exercised  a  public  and 

differences  between  men  and  women.'  See  Essays  (Longmans, 
1897),  pp.  113  ff.  And  the  statements  of  the  text  are  supported 
by  Mr.  Havelock  Ellis'  Man  and  Woman  (Contemp.  Science 
Series).  Mr.  Ellis  is  sometimes  less  decisive  than  Mr.  Romanes. 
But  see  capp.  xiii,  xiv. 

^  Tennyson's  Princess  ;  cp.  his  Memoir  by  Hallam  Tennyson, 
(Macmillan,  1897),  i.  249. 

^  Prov.  xxxi.  10  ff. 


Husbands  and  wives  225 

quasi-political  ministry.  Thus  in  the  Christian 
community  also  there  were  prophetesses,  and 
St.  Paul,  in  the  same  epistle  in  which  he  forbids 
women  in  general  to  teach  in  public,  seems  to 
leave  room  for  such  exceptional  women  to  '  pray 
or  prophecy '  in  the  Christian  congregation  with 
their  heads  covered  ^.  Thus  in  fact  all  down 
Christian  history  there  have  been  at  intervals 
exceptional  women  with  unmistakable  gifts  for 
guiding  souls  in  private  and  directing  pubhc 
policy,  like  St.  Catherine  of  Siena,  or  with  gifts 
of  government  like  St.  Hilda,  whom  the  Church 
has  rightly  accepted  as  divinely  endowed. 
Where  Christianity  appears  to  have  made  a 
fresh  departure  in  regard  to  women  was  in  the 
organized  consecration  of  the  gift  of  female 
ministry.  The  deaconesses  like  Phoebe,  and 
women  like  Lydia  and  Priscilla,  are  most  charac- 
teristic Christian  figures ;  and  they  have  a  long 
line  of  successors  in  later  deaconesses  and 
*  widows,'  and  sisters  of  mercy,  and  nurses  and 
teachers.  It  was  the  ignominy  of  the  Church  of 
England  that  for  so  long  she  narrowed  down  the 
functions  of  women  to  those  which  belong  to 
wives  and   daughters  at  home.     Multitudes  of 

^  I  Cor.  xi.  5. 
Q 


226       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

women  need  other  than  domestic  spheres  and 
are  happier  away  from  home  ;  and  we  may  thank 
God  that — apart  from  the  specially  political  and 
judicial  functions  which  are  proper  to  men — the 
widest  sphere  of  influence  and  service  is  now 
again  being  thrown  open  to  women. 

How  pitiable  it  was  that,  in  face  of  all  Christian 
experience  and  of  the  authoritative  language  of 
the  New  Testament,  unmarried  women  should 
have  no  prospect  opened  to  them  but  such  as 
was  drearily  summed  up  in  the  phrase  '  old 
maids.'  St.  Paul,  if  in  this  epistle  he  is  glorifying 
the  married  state,  certainly  also  glorifies  both 
for  men  and  women  the  freedom  of  the  celibate 
life  consecrated  to  the  service  of  God — the  con- 
secration of  those  who  in  a  special  sense  are  the 
virgin-brides  of  Christ.  We  may  be  thankful 
indeed  that  now,  if  somewhat  tardily,  it  has  re- 
ceived from  the  largest  assembly  of  Anglican 
bishops  ever  gathered  together  an  altogether  un- 
grudging recognition  ^. 

It  has  been  very  frequently  observed  that,  espe- 
cially in  Asia  Minor,  women  in  St.  Paul's  day 
were  attaining  in  non-Christian  society  positions 
of  great  influence  and  dignity.     We  find  them 

^  Lambeth  Conference,  1897.  Report  on  Religious  Communities, 
pp.  57  ff. 


Husbands  and  wives  227 

very  commonly  holding  priesthoods  and  public 
offices  and  magistracies.  It  would  appear,  how- 
ever, that  too  much  may  be  made  of  this.  The 
populations  of  the  Asiatic  towns  loved  to  be 
entertained  with  expensive  games  and  largesses 
of  money  and  grain,  and  to  have  temples  built 
and  endowed  for  them.  Wealthy  women  of 
noble  families  were  elected  to  priesthoods  and 
offices  where  they  could  exercise  their  accept- 
able liberality  in  these  ways.  But  the  offices 
were  rather  of  dignity  than  of  practical  govern- 
ment, and  were  closely  associated  with  priest- 
hoods. There  is  no  evidence  that  women  in 
Asiatic  cities  could  assist  at  assemblies,  or  give 
votes,  or  speak  in  public,  or  serve  on  legations, 
or  enter  into  political  relations  with  the  Roman 
authorities.  There  were  women  among  the 
Asiarchs,  but  probably  only  when  they  were 
associated  in  an  honorary  manner  with  their 
husbands.  In  the  early  Christian  church  the 
influence  of  women  was  put  to  far  nobler  uses 
than  in  Asiatic  cities ;  but  their  position  relatively 
to  men  was  not  far  different  from  what  would 
have  been  recognized  in  the  general  society  of 
that  region  ^     In  other  parts  of  the  empire  the 

^  See   Paris,    Quatenus  focntinae  res  publicas  m  Asia  Minora 
Romams  inperaniibus  aiiigerint  (Paris,  1891). 
Q2 


228       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephestans 

women    of    the    Christian    church    were    con- 
spicuously in  advance  of  those  outside. 

In  somewhat  later  days  of  the  Church  there 
was  some  resentment  at  the  high  and  free 
position  assigned  to  women  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment documents.  Thus  one  celebrated  MS. 
of  the  New  Testament^ — the  Codex  Bezae — • 
changes  'not  a  few  of  the  honourable  Greek 
women  and  of  men '  (Acts  xvii.  12)  into  '  of  the 
Greeks  and  the  honourable,  many  men  and 
women.'  In  xvii.  34  it  cuts  out  Damaris.  And 
in  xvii.  4  it  changes  the  '  leading  women '  into 
'  wives  of  the  leading  men.'  The  spirit  which 
prompted  these  changes  in  an  early  Christian 
scribe  and  reviser,  has  not  been  wanting  in 
much  later  ages,  though  it  had  not  a  chance  of 
tampering  with  our  sacred  texts. 

B.     Parents  and  Children.    VI.  1-4. 

After  laying  down  the  principles  which  deter- 
mined the  relation  of  wives  to  their  husbands, 
St.  Paul  turns  to  the  relation  of  children  to 
their  parents.  The  wives  are  to  be  subordinate 
to  their  husbands.  Children  are  to  be  obedient 
to  their  parents  as  part  of  their  duty  *  in  the 

^  Ramsay,  Paul  the  Traveller,  p,  268. 


Parents  and  children  229 

Lord/  as  members  of  His  body.  They  are  to 
show  honour  to  their  parents  as  directed  by  the 
commandment  which  we  call  the  fifth,  but  which 
St.  Paul  here  probably  calls  'a  commandment 
standing  first  accompanied  with  promise.'  It 
stands  first  among  those  which  refer  to  our 
neighbour  grouped  apart — as  our  Lord  also  says 
'Thou  knowest  the  commandments,'  and  then 
specifies  those  six  alone  ^.  And  it  is  accompanied 
with  a  promise  implied  in  the  words  '  that  it  may 
be  well  with  thee  and  that  thou  mayest  live 
long  in  the  land  ^ ' — a  promise  that  the  prosperity 
and  permanence  of  the  nation  shall  be  bound  up 
with  the  observance  of  the  natural  law  of 
obedience  to  those  from  whom  we  derive  our 
life.  I  say  the  prosperity  of  the  nation,  and  so 
no  doubt  secondly  of  the  individual;  but  all 
through  the  Ten  Commandments  the  individual 
is  regarded  only  as  part  of  the  nation. 

The  other  translation  of  these  words — '  which 
is  the  first  commandment  with  promise  ' — is  one 
to  which  the  original  Greek  does  not  seem  to  give 
any  preference,  and  which  does  not  give  a  good 
sense,  for  the  fifth  commandment  has  neither 

^  Mark  x.  19  ;  cf.  Matt.  xix.  18,  19  ;  Luke  xviii.  20. 
^  Cited  from  Exod.  xx.  12  according  to  the  LXX,  which  assimi- 
lates the  passage  to  Deut.  v.  16. 


230      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

more  nor  less  of  promise  than  the  second,  and  in 
what  we  now  call  'the  second  table'  it  stands 
alone  as  having  a  promise  imphed. 

Here  again  in  dealing  with  children  St.  Paul 
passes  from  the  duty  of  the  subject  to  that  of  the 
authority.  Fathers  are  exhorted  not  to  irritate 
their  children,  as  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians 
they  are  not  to  provoke  them,  or,  as  the  word  may 
perhaps  mean,  overstimulate  them  so  as  to  lead  to 
their  losing  heart  ^.  A  broken  spirit  and  a  sullen 
spirit  are  alike  bad  signs  in  youth.  But  this  does 
not  mean  that  they  are  not  to  be  disciplined  ;  dis- 
cipline is  God's  purpose  for  us  all  through  hfe, 
and  in  childhood  and  youth  parents  are  the 
ministers  of  God  to  disciphne  their  children  and 
put  them  in  mind  to  obey  God. 

Children,  obey  your  parents  in  the  Lord :  for  this  is 
right.  Honour  thy  father  and  mother  (which  is  the  first 
commandment  with  promise),  that  it  may  be  well  with 
thee,  and  thou  mayest  live  long  on  the  earth.  And,  ye 
fathers,  provoke  not  your  children  to  wrath  :  but  nurture 
them  in  the  chastening  and  admonition  of  the  Lord. 

We  may  notice  in  this  passage  the  implication 
of  infant  baptism.  The  children  are  addressed 
^  in  the  Lord,'  that  is  as  already  members  of  the 

^  Col.  iii.  21.  In  2  Cor.  ix.  2,  the  only  other  place  where  the 
word  is  used  by  St.  Paul  or  in  the  New  Testament,  it  means  to 
stimulate  by  emulation. 


Parents  and  children  231 

body  of  Christ.  The  children  of  any  one 
Christian  parent  are,  in  i  Cor.  vii.  14,  described 
as  'holy' — that  is  consecrated  or  dedicated  by 
the  circumstances  of  their  birth  and  the  oppor- 
tunity which  it  supphes  for  Christian  education 
— and  thus  fit  subjects  for  baptism.  In  fact  it 
is  probable  that  Christianity  took  from  the  Jews 
the  practice  of  infant  baptism.  Withifi  their 
own  race  indeed  there  was  no  need  of  a  cere- 
mony of  incorporation.  For  the  son  of  Jewish 
parents  was  born  a  member  of  the  chosen 
people.  But  a  proselyte  was— certainly  before  our 
Lord's  time — made  a  Jew  with  a  baptism  ^  which 
was  regarded  as  his  new  birth,  his  naturalization 
into  a  new  and  higher  race.  And  if  the  prose- 
lyte had  children  they  were  baptized  with  him 
as  'little  proselytes^.'  With  a  new  depth  of 
meaning  this  practice  of  infant  baptism  was  taken 
over  by  the  Christian  church  in  the  case  of 
those  already  dedicated  to  God  by  the  spiritual 
opportunities  of  their  birth  and  education,  so 
that  the  beginnings  of  growth  might  be  sanctified, 
like  our  Lord's  childhood,  in  the  Spirit. 

*  Accompanied  with  circumcision  and  sacrifice. 

*  See  Dr.  Taylor,  T/ie  Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,  pp.  55-58, 
and  Sabatier,  La  Didache,  pp.  84-88,  both  very  suggestive 
passages.  Cf.  Edersheim,  Life  and  Times  of  Jesus,  App.  xii,  and 
Schiirer,  Jewish  People,  Div.  ii.  vol.  ii.  pp.  319  ff. 


232      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

We  must  also  take  to  heart  in  our  day  the  lesson 
of  the  fifth  commandment,  as  re- enforced  by 
St.  Paul,  with  its  converse  in  the  duty  of  parents. 
Domestic  obedience  is  somewhat  at  a  discount, 
it  is  to  be  feared,  in  this  generation  in  most 
classes  of  society  ;  and  this  is  a  very  grave  peril. 
Parents,  wealthy  as  well  as  poor,  are  very 
commonly  disposed  to  make  schoolmasters  and 
schoolmistresses  do  the  work  of  discipline  for 
them,  while  they  retain  for  themselves  the  privi- 
lege of  spoiling  their  children.  There  are,  how- 
ever, of  course,  very  many  exceptions.  There 
are  multitudes  of  homes  where  discipline  is 
exercised  wisely  and  lovingly,  and  children  find 
obedience  alwa3^s  a  duty  and  mostly  a  joy. 
This  is  certainly  the  only  divinely  appointed 
method  by  which  we  are  to  be  prepared  for  the 
obedience  and  self-discipline  required  of  us  when 
we  grow  to  be  what  is  falsely  described  as  '  our 
own  masters.*  And  St.  Paul's  twofold  admoni- 
tion to  parents  is  full  of  wisdom :  they  are  not 
to  provoke  their  children  so  that  they  become 
bad-tempered,  and  they  are  not  to  over-stimulate 
them,  by  competition  or  otherwise,  so  that  they 
become  disheartened.  But  to  nourish  them  by 
appropriate  food,  mental  and  spiritual  as  well  as 
physical,  so   that  they  may  grow  to  the  full 


Masters  and  slaves  233 

stature  and   strength  which   God   intends   for 
them. 

C.     Masters  and  Slaves.     VI.  5-9. 

St.  Paul's  method  in  dealing  with  slavery  is 
well  known.  The  slave  is  in  a  position  really, 
at  bottom,  inconsistent  with  human  individuality 
and  liberty,  as  Christianity  insists  upon  it.  Thus, 
to  go  no  further,  the  male  slave  and  his  wife  are 
liable  (in  all  systems  of  slavery)  to  be  sold  apart 
from  one  another.  This  puts  in  its  plainest  form 
the  inconsistency  of  slavery  with  Christianity. 
The  slave  is  a  living  rational  tool  of  another 
man,  and  not  his  brother  with  fundamentally 
the  same  spiritual  right  to  *  save  his  life '  or 
make  the  best  of  his  faculties.  Thus  where  a 
slave  can  obtain  liberty  St.  Paul  exhorts  him 
to  prefer  it  \  And  when  he  is  dealing  with  the 
Christian  master  Philemon,  whose  runaway 
slave,  Onesimus,  has  become  Christian  under 
St.  Paul's  influence,  he  exhorts  him  to  receive 
him  back,  no  longer  as  a  slave,  but  as  a  brother 
beloved  ^.  But  Christianity  enlisted  in  no 
premature  crusade  against  slavery  as  an  in- 
stitution— premature,  because  Christianity  was 
not  yet  in  the  position  to  fashion  a  civilization  of 

'  I  Cor.  vii.  21,  23.  ^  Pliilem.  i6. 


234       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

her  own.     It  left  it  to  be  undermined  by  the 
Christian  spirit. 

Thus  St.  Paul  exhorts  slaves  to  obey,  and  that 
in  more  forcible  language  than  he  has  applied 
even  to  children, '  with  fear  and  trembling ' ;  that 
is  with  an  intense  anxiety  to  do  their  duty. 
They  are  to  perform  their  work  as  in  God's 
sight,  thoroughly — He  being  the  inspector  of  it 
who  can  infallibly  tell  good  work  from  bad  — 
and  '  from  the  heart,'  that  is,  putting  their  will 
and  mind  into  it.  They  are  to  do  it  as  to  the 
Lord,  knowing  that  no  good  work,  however 
menial  or  uninteresting,  is  wasted,  but  shall  be 
received  back,  in  its  product  or  legitimate  fruit, 
as  'its  own  reward'  from  Christ's  hand.  In  the 
Epistle  to  Timothy,  this  additional  reason  for 
diligent  service  is  given,  that  if  Christian  slaves 
get  a  reputation  for  slackness  they  will  bring 
discredit  upon  the  Christian  name  \  And  in  the 
same  passage  a  touch  is  added  which  shows 
what,  even  in  its  possible  perversions,  the  spirit 
of  brotherhood  really  meant,  'They  that  have 
believing  masters,  let  them  not  despise  them 
because  they  are  brethren ;  but  let  them  serve 
them  the  rather,  because  they  that  partake  of  the 
benefit  are  believers  and  beloved.' 

^  I  Tim.  vi.  I. 


Masters  and  slaves  235 

And  the  masters  are  exhorted  to  remember 
that  true  principle  of  human  equahty — that 
'  with  God  is  no  respect  of  persons/  that  in 
God's  sight  each  man  counts  for  one,  and  no 
one  counts  for  more  than  one ;  each  having  an 
equal  claim  and  duty  in  the  sight  of  the  one 
Master  under  whom  all  are  servants.  Thus 
they  are  to  deal  with  their  slaves  in  the  same 
spirit  of  duty  as  their  slaves  should  have  toward 
them,  and  they  are  to  treat  them  with  the  respect 
due  to  brother  men  '  forbearing  threatenings/ 

Servants,  be  obedient  unto  them  that  according  to  the 
flesh  are  your  masters,  with  fear  and  trembling,  in  single- 
ness of  j'-our  heart,  as  unto  Christ ;  not  in  the  way  of  eye- 
service,  as  men-pleasers  ;  but  as  servants  of  Christ,  doing 
the  will  of  God  from  the  heart ;  with  good  will  doing 
service,  as  unto  the  Lord,  and  not  unto  men  :  knowing 
that  whatsoever  good  thing  each  one  doeth,  the  same 
shall  he  receive  again  from  the  Lord,  whether  he  be  bond 
or  free.  And,  ye  masters,  do  the  same  things  unto  them, 
and  forbear  threatening  :  knowing  that  both  their  Master 
and  yours  is  in  heaven,  and  there  is  no  respect  of  persons 
with  him. 

Christianity  has  long  abolished  slavery  so  far 
as  the  legal  status  of  the  slave  is  concerned. 
But  the  principles  of  mastership  and  service  are 
still  to  be  learned  in  this  brief  section  of  St.  Paul's 
writing ;  and  if  we  really  believed  that  '  with 


236       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

God  is  no  respect  of  persons'  there  would  be 
neither  scamping  of  work  and  defrauding  of 
employers,  nor  on  the  other  hand  the  *  sweating ' 
of  the  employed  and  treating  of  men  and  women 
as  if  they  were  tools  for  the  profit  of  others, 
instead  of  spiritual  beings,  with  each  his  own 
divine  end  to  realize. 


The  spiritual  struggle  237 


DIVISION  II.  §  6.    Chapter  VI.  10-20. 
The  personal  spiritual  struggle. 

The  ethics  of  Christianity  are,  as  has  appeared, 
social  ethics,  the  ethics  of  a  society  organized  in 
mutual  relationships :  and  Christianity  is  con- 
cerned with  the  whole  life  of  man,  body  as  well 
as  soul,  his  commerce  and  his  pohtics  as  well  as 
his  religion.  But  because  this  requires  to  be 
made  emphatic,  does  it  follow  that  we  are  to 
neglect  or  depreciate  the  inward,  personal, 
spiritual  struggle  ?  Are  we  to  give  a  reduced, 
because  we  give  a  better  balanced,  importance 
to  *  saving  one's  own  soul,'  that  is  preserving  or 
recovering  into  its  full  power  and  supremacy 
one's  own  spiritual  personality?  Of  course 
not :  because  social  health  depends  on  personal 
character.  The  more  a  good  man  throws  him- 
self into  social,  including  ecclesiastical,  duties  the 
more  he  feels  the  need  of  character  in  himself 
and  others.     And  the  more  serious  a   man   is 


238      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

about  his  character,  the  more  deeply  he  feels  the 
attention  and  self-discipline  that  character  needs. 
Certainly  the  most  ascetic  words  of  our  Lord — 
those  in  which  He  speaks  of  the  necessity  for 
cutting  off  or  plucking  out  hand  or  eye  if  hand 
or  eye  cause  us  to  stumble,  and  warns  us  that 
we  must  be  strong  at  the  spiritual  centre  of  our 
being,  before  we  can  be  free  in  exterior  action — 
are  likely  to  come  home  to  no  one  with  more  force 
than  to  one  who  would  do  his  duty  in  Church 
or  state.  Christ  cannot  redeem  the  world  with- 
out Himself  passing  through  the  temptation  and 
the  agony  in  the  garden.  And  thus  St.  Paul, 
after  he  has  been  dwelling  on  the  fraternal  and 
corporate  character  of  the  Christian  life,  comes 
back  at  the  last  to  emphasize  the  personal 
spiritual  struggle.  To  be  a  good  member  of  the 
body,  he  says  in  effect,  you  must  be  in  personal 
character  a  strong  man,  strong  enough  in 
Christ's  might  to  win  the  victory  in  a  fearful 
struggle. 

Against  what  is  our  spiritual  struggle  ?  It  is 
against  the  weakness  and  lawlessness  of  our 
own  flesh.  '  The  spirit  is  willing,  but  the  flesh  is 
weak.*  '  Our  eye  and  hand  and  foot  cause  us  to 
stumble.'  Or  again  it  is  the  world  which  is  too 
much  for  us.    *  We  seek  honour  one  of  another 


The  spiritual  struggle  239 

and  not  the  glory  that  cometh  from  the  only  God.' 
Quite  true.  But  behind  the  manifest  disorder 
of  our  nature  and  the  insistence  of  worldly 
motives  there  are  other  less  apparent  forces; 
and  these,  in  St.  Paul's  mind,  so  overshadow 
the  more  visible  and  tangible  ones  that,  in  the 
Biblical  manner  of  speech,  he  denies  for  the 
moment  the  reality  of  the  latter.  '  We  wrestle 
not  against  flesh  and  blood,'  not  against  our  own 
flesh  or  a  visibly  corrupt  public,  but  against  an 
unseen  spiritual  host  organized  for  evil. 

It  was  noticed  above  that  St.  Paul  has  no 
doubt  at  all  that  moral  evil  has  its  origin  and 
spring  in  the  dark  background  behind  human 
nature — in  the  rebel  wills  of  devils.  It  has 
become  customary  to  regard  beHef  in  devils  or 
angels  as  fanciful  and  perhaps  superstitious. 
Now  no  doubt  theological  and  popular  fancy 
has  intruded  itself  into  the  things  it  has  not  seen, 
and,  instead  of  the  studiously  vague  ^  language 
of  St.  Paul,  has  developed  a  sort  of  geography 
and  ethnology  for  spirits  good  and  bad  which  is 
mythological  and  allied  to  superstition.  But  it 
has  acted  in  the  same  way,  and  shown  the  same 
resentment  of  the  discipline  of  ignorance,  in  the 
case  of  even  more  central  spiritual  realities.     No 

^  Col.  i.  i6. 


240      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

doubt  again  the  belief  in  the  devil  has  sometimes 
become,  in  practical  force,  belief  in  a  rival 
God.  But  this  sort  of  Manichaeism  or  dualism 
represents  a  very  permanent  tendency  in  the 
untrained  religious  instincts  of  men,  which  the 
Bible  is  occupied  in  restraining.  In  the  Bible 
certainly  Satan  and  his  hosts  are  rebel  angels 
and  not  rival  Gods.  Once  more  undoubtedly 
demonology  has  been  a  source  of  much  misery 
and  many  degrading  practices.  But  demonology 
represents  a  natural  religious  instinct.  It  is 
older  than  the  Bible.  And  what  our  religion 
has  done,  where  it  has  been  true  to  itself,  is  to 
purge  away  the  noxious  and  non-moral  super- 
stitions. St.  Paul  is  representative  of  true 
Christianity  in  his  stern  refusal  to  use  the 
services  of  contemporary  soothsaying  and  magic 
and  sorcery  \  One  has  only  to  compare  the 
exorcisms  of  our  Lord  with  contemporary  Jewish 
exorcism  to  note  the  moral  difference.  And 
every  truth  has  its  exaggeration  and  its  abuse. 
The  question  still  remains ;  are  there  no  spiritual 
beings  but  men  ?  Is  there  no  moral  evil,  but  in 
the  human  heart?  Our  Lord  gives  the  most 
emphatic  negative  answer.  His  teaching  about 
evil    (and    good)    spirits    is    una.istakable    and 

'  Acts  xiii.  6-  12  ;  xvi.  16-18;  xix.  13-20. 


The  spiritual  struggle  241 

constant.  If  He  is  an  absolutely  trustworthy 
teacher  in  the  spiritual  concerns  of  life,  then 
temptation  from  evil  spirits  is  a  reality,  and  a 
reahty  to  be  held  constantly  in  view.  And 
our  Lord's  authority  is  confirmed  by  our  own 
experiences.  Sometimes  experience  irresistibly 
suggests  to  us  the  presence  of  unseen  bad  com- 
panions who  can  make  vivid  suggestions  to  our 
minds.  Or  we  are  impressed  like  St.  Paul  with 
the  delusive,  lying  character  of  evil,  which  makes 
the  behef  in  a  malevolent  will  almost  inevitable. 
Or  the  continuity  in  evil  influences,  social  or 
personal,  seems  to  disclose  to  us  an  organized 
plan  or  'method  \'  a  kingdom  of  evil. 

It  is  then  in  view  of  unseen  but  personal 
spiritual  adversaries  organized  against  us  as 
armies,  under  leaders  who  have  at  their  control 
wide-reaching  social  forces  of  evil,  and  who 
intrude  themselves  into  the  highest  spiritual 
regions  '  the  heavenly  places '  to  which  in  their 
own  nature  they  belong,  that  St.  Paul  would 
have  us  equip  ourselves  for  fighting  in  '  the 
armour  of  light  ^.' 

If  there  is  a  spiritual  battle,  armour  defensive 
and  offensive  becomes  a  natural  metaphor  which 

*  This  is  akin  to  St.  Paul's  word  in  the  Greek,  iv.  14  ;  vi.  11. 
^  Rom.  xiii.  12. 


242      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephestans 

St.  Paul  frequently  uses  \  But  in  his  imprison- 
ment he  must  have  become  specially  habituated 
to  the  armour  of  Roman  soldiers,  and  here,  as 
it  were,  he  makes  a  spiritual  meditation  on  the 
pieces  of  the  '  panoply  ^  which  were  continually 
under  his  observation. 

We  are,  then,  to  'take  up'  or  'put  on'  the 
panoply  or  whole  armour  of  God.  This  means 
more  than  the  armour  which  God  suppKes.  It 
is  probably  like  'the  righteousness  of  God,' 
something  which  is  not  only  a  gift  of  God,  but 
a  gift  of  His  own  self.  Our  righteousness  is 
Christ,  and  He  is  our  armour.  Christ,  the 
'  stronger  man/  who  overthrew  '  the  strong  man 
armed'  in  His  own  person^,  and  'took  away 
from  him  his  panoply  in  which  he  trusted,'  is  to 
be  our  defence.  And  by  no  external  protection  ; 
we  are  to  clothe  ourselves  in  His  nature,  to 
put  Him  on  as  our  armour.  His  is  the  strength 
in  which  we  are,  like  Him,  to  come  triumphant 
through  the  hour  of  darkness. 

Now  the  parts  of  the  armour,  the  elements  of 
Christ's  unconquerable  moral  strength,  what 
are  they  ? 

^  Rom.  vi.  13;    xiii.  12;    2  Cor.  vi.  7 ;    x.  4  ;    i    Thess.  v.  8. 
Cf.  Isa.  xi.  4,  5,  and  Wisd.  v.  19. 
^  Luke  xi.  ar,  23. 


The  spiritual  struggle  243 

The  belt  which  keeps  all  else  in  its  place  is 
for  the  Christian,  truth — that  is,  singleness  of  eye 
or  perfect  sincerity — the  pure  and  simple  desire 
of  the  light.  '  Unless  the  vessel  be  clean  (or 
sincere)'  said  the  old  Roman  proverb,  'vv^hatever 
you  put  into  it  turns  sour.'  A  lack  of  sincerity 
at  the  heart  of  the  spiritual  life  will  destroy  it  all. 
Then  the  breastplate  which  covers  vital  organs 
is,  for  the  Christian,  righteousness— the  specific 
righteousness  of  Christ,  St.  Paul  seems  to 
imply  ^,  in  which  in  its  indivisible  unity  he  is 
to  enwrap  himself  And,  as  the  feet  of  the 
soldier  must  be  well  shod  not  only  for  protec- 
tion but  also  to  facilitate  free  movement  on  all 
sorts  of  ground,  the  Christian  too  is  to  be  so 
possessed  with  the  good  tidings  of  peace  that 
he  is  'prepared'  to  move  and  act  under  all 
circumstances — all  hesitations,  and  delays,  and 
uncertainties  which  hinder  movement  gone — his 
feet  shod  with  the  preparedness  which  belongs 
to  those  who  have  peace  at  the  heart,  ('  How 
beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are  the  feet  of 
him  that  bringeth  glad  tidings,  that  publisheth 
peace.')  In  these  three  fundamental  disposi- 
tions— single-mindedness,  whole-hearted  follow- 

'  By  the  use  of  the  articles.     Contrast  Is.  lix.  17  which  he  is 
quoting. 

R  2 


244       T^^^^  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

ing  of  Christ,  readiness  such  as  belongs  to  a 
behever  in  the  good  tidings — hes  the  Christian's 
strength.  But  the  armour  is  not  yet  complete. 
The  attacks  of  the  enemy  upon  the  thoughts 
will  be  frequent  and  fiery.  A  constant  and 
rapid  action  of  the  will  will  be  necessary  to 
protect  ourselves  from  evil  suggestions  lest  they 
obtain  a  lodgement.  And  the  method  of  self- 
protection  is  to  look  continually  and  deliberately 
out  of  ourselves  up  to  Christ — to  appeal  to  Him, 
to  invoke  His  name,  to  draw  upon  His  strength 
by  acts  of  our  will.  Thus  faith,  continually  at 
every  fresh  assault  looking  instinctively  to 
Christ  and  drawing  upon  His  help,  is  to  be  our 
shield,  off  which  the  enemy's  darts  will  glance 
harmless,  their  hurtful  fire  quenched.  And  in 
thus  defending  ourselves  we  must  have  con- 
tinually in  mind  that  God  has  delivered  man  by 
a  great  redemption  \  It  is  the  sense  of  this 
great  salvation,  the  conviction  of  each  Christian 
that  he  is  among  those  who  have  been  saved 
and  are  tasting  this  salvation,  which  is  to  cover 
his  head  from  attack  like  a  helmet  ^   And  God's 

'  Isa.  lix.  17. 

'  '  Salvation '  is  sometimes  viewed  as  already  accomplished, 
i.  e.  in  the  victory  of  Christ :  sometimes  as  still  to  be  realized  at 
'  the  redemption  of  our  bodies  ' :  so  in  1  Thess.  v.  8  the  helmet  is 
*  the  hope  of  salvation  '  yet  to  be  attained. 


The  spiritual  struggle  245 

word — God's  specific  and  particular  utterances, 
through  inspired  prophets  and  psalmists — is  to 
equip  his  mouth  with  a  sword  of  power ;  as  in 
His  temptation  and  on  the  cross,  Christ  '  put  off 
from  Himself  the  principalities  and  powers,  and 
made  a  show  of  them,  triumphing  over  them 
openly'  by  the  words  of  Holy  Scripture;  as 
Bunyan's  Christian,  when  '  Apollyon  was  fetch- 
ing him  his  last  blow,  nimbly  stretched  out  his 
hand  and  caught '  for  his  *  sword '  the  word  of 
Micah,  'when  I  fall  I  shall  arise.'  This  is  one 
fruit  of  constant  meditation  on  the  words  of 
Holy  Scripture,  that  they  recur  to  our  minds 
when  we  most  need  them.  And  then  St.  Paul 
passes  from  metaphor  to  simple  speech,  and  for 
the  last  weapon  bids  the  Christians  use  'always' 
that  most  powerful  of  all  spiritual  weapons  for 
themselves  and  others,  *  prayer  and  supplica- 
tion' of  all  kinds  and  'in  all  seasons.'  But  it 
is  not  to  be  ignorant  and  blind  prayer ;  it  is  to 
be  prayer  '  in  the  spirit,'  '  who  helpeth  our  infir- 
mities, for  we  know  not  of  ourselves  how  to 
pray  as  we  ought.'  'The  things  of  God  none 
knoweth,  save  the  Spirit  of  God '  ^ ;  and  it  is  to 
be  the  sort  of  prayer  about  which  trouble  is 
taken,  and  which  is  persevering;  and  it  is  to  be 

*  Rom.  viii.  26;  i  Cor.  ii.  11. 


246      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

prayer  for  others  as  well  as  for  themselves,  *  for 
all  the  saints.'  And  St.  Paul  uses  the  pastor's 
privilege,  and  asks  for  himself  the  support  of 
his  converts'  prayers,  that  he  may  have  both 
power  of  speech  and  courage  to  proclaim  the 
good  tidings  of  the  divine  secret  disclosed,  for 
which  he  is  already  suffering  as  a  prisoner. 

Finally,  be  strong  in  the  Lord,  and  in  the  strength  of 
his  might.  Put  on  the  whole  armour  of  God,  that  ye  may 
be  able  to  stand  against  the  wiles  of  the  devil.  For  our 
wrestling  is  not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  the 
principalities,  against  the  powers,  against  the  world- 
rulers  of  this  darkness,  against  the  spiritual  hosis  of 
wickedness  in  the  heavenly  places.  Wherefore  take  up 
the  whole  armour  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  with- 
stand in  the  evil  day,  and,  having  done  all,  to  stand. 
Stand  therefore,  having  girded  your  loins  with  truth,  and 
having  put  on  the  breastplate  of  righteousness,  and  having 
shod  your  feet  with  the  preparation  of  the  gospel  of 
peace  ;  withal  taking  up  the  shield  of  faith,  wherewith  ye 
shall  be  able  to  quench  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the  evil  one. 
And  take  the  helmet  of  salvation,  and  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of  God :  with  all  prayer  and 
supplication  praying  at  all  seasons  in  the  Spirit,  and 
watching  thereunto  in  all  perseverance  and  supplication 
for  all  the  saints,  and  on  my  behalf,  that  utterance  may 
be  given  unto  me  in  opening  my  mouth,  to  make  known 
with  boldness  the  mystery  of  the  gospel,  for  which  I  am 
an  ambassador  in  chains  ;  that  in  it  I  may  speak  boldly, 
as  I  ought  to  speak. 


The  spiritual  struggle  247 

St.  Paul  does  not  only  exhort  Christians  to 
pray,  but  he  gives  them  abundant  examples.  In 
this  epistle  there  are  two  specimens  ^  of  prayer 
for  the  spiritual  progress  of  his  converts,  mingled 
with  thanksgivings  and  praise.  We  habitually 
pray  for  others  that  they  may  be  delivered  from 
temporal  evils,  or  that  they  may  be  converted 
from  flagrant  sin  or  unbelief.  But  surely  we 
very  seldom  pray  rich  prayers,  like  those  of 
St.  Paul's,  for  others'  progress  in  spiritual 
apprehension. 

1  Eph.  i.  15  ff. ;  iii.  14  ff. 


248      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephestans 


CONCLUSION.    Chapter  VI.  21-24. 

But  that  ye  also  may  know  my  affairs,  how  I  do, 
Tychicus,  the  beloved  brother  and  faithful  minister  in  the 
Lord,  shall  make  known  to  you  all  things  :  whom  I  have 
sent  unto  you  for  this  very  purpose,  that  ye  may  know 
our  state,  and  that  he  may  comfort  your  hearts.  Peace 
be  to  the  brethren,  and  love  with  faith,  from  God  the 
Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Grace  be  with  all 
them  that  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  uncorruptness. 

Tychicus  was  a  native  of  Asia  Minor  \  a 
companion  and  delegate  of  St.  Paul,  like  Timoth37 
and  others^.  He  was  entrusted  with  the  task 
presumably  of  conveying  this  letter  to  the 
churches  of  Asia  Minor,  and  certainly  of  in- 
forming them  as  to  the  apostle's  state  in  his 
Roman  imprisonment — information  which  could 
not  fail  to  comfort  and  encourage  them. 

St.  Paul  brings  this  wonderful  letter  to  a  con- 
clusion with  a  brief  benediction  to  the  brethren 
— an  invocation  upon  them  of  divine  peace,  and 
love  with  faith — an  invocation  of  divine  favour 
upon  all  that  'love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in 

^  Acts  XX.  4.  *  2  Tim.  iv.  12. 


Conclusion  2.\c^ 


uncorruptness.'  Corruption  is  the  fruit  of  sin, 
the  condition  of  the  '  old  man  ^'  Incorruption 
is  the  state  of  the  risen  Christ,  and  in  Him  the 
members  of  His  body  are  to  be  preserved,  and  at 
last  raised  '  incorruptible  ^ '  in  body.  But  there  is 
a  prior  *  incorruptibleness'  of  spirit  in  which  all 
Christians  are  to  live  from  the  first  ^,  a  freedom 
from  all  such  doublemindedness  or  uncieanness 
as  can  corrupt  the  central  life  of  the  man. 
And  to  love  Christ  with  this  incorruptibility  is 
the  condition  of  the  permanent  enjoyment  of  all 
that  His  good  favour  would  bestow  upon  us. 

^  Eph.  iv.  22.  2  I  Cor.  xv.  5a.  ^  i  Pet.  iii.  4. 


APPENDED   NOTES. 


Note  A.     See  p.  26. 

The  Roman  Empire  Recognized  by  Christian 

Writers  as  a  Divine  Preparation  for 

THE  Spread  of  the  Gospel. 

(i)  The  Spanish  poet  Prudentius  {c.  a.  d.  400)  fully 
appreciates  the  influence  of  the  Roman  Empire  in  welding 
together  the  world  into  a  unity  of  government,  laws, 
language,  customs,  and  religious  rites,  to  prepare  the  way 
for  the  universal  Church.  The  stanzas  are  remarkable 
and  worth  quoting.  They  are  put  as  a  prayer  into  the 
mouth  of  the  Roman  deacon  Laurence  during  his  martyr- 
dom. He  recognizes  what  the  Roman  Empire  has  done, 
and  prays  that  Rome  may  follow  the  example  of  the  rest 
of  the  world  in  becoming  Christian. 

O  Christe,  numen  uni:nm  ut  discrepantum  gentium 

O  splendor,  O  virtus  Patris,  mores  et  observanliam, 

O  factor  orbis  et  poll,  linguas  et  ingenia  et  sacra, 

atque  auctor  horum  moenium !  unis  domares  legibus. 

Qui  sceptra  Romae  in  vertice  En  omne  sub  regiuim  Remi 

rerum  locasti,  sanciens  mortale  concessit  genus  : 

mundum  quirinnli  togae  idem  loquuntur  dissoni 

servire  et  armis  cedere  :  ritus,  id  ipsum  sentiunt. 


252      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

Hoc  destinatum,  quo  magis  Confoederantur  omnia 

ius  Christiani  nominis  bine     inde     membra    in     sym- 

quodcunque  terrarum  iacet  bolum: 

uno  illigaret  vinculo.  mansuescit  orbis  subditus  : 

mansuescat  et  summum  caput. 
Da,  Christe,  Romanis  tuis 

sit  Christiana  ut  ci vitas  :  Peristephanon^  ii.  413  ff. 

per  quam  dedisti  ut  caeteris 

mens  una  sacrorum  foret. 

(2)  The  Pope,  Leo  the  Great  {c.  a.  d.  450),  speaks  thus 
{Serm.  Ixxxii.  2)  :  '  That  the  result  of  this  unspeakable 
grace  (the  Incarnation)  might  be  spread  abroad  throughout 
the  world,  God's  providence  made  ready  the  Roman 
Empire,  whose  growth  has  reached  so  far  that  the  whole 
multitude  of  nations  have  been  brought  into  neighbourhood 
and  connexion.  For  it  particularly  suited  the  divinely 
planned  work  that  many  kingdoms  should  be  leagued 
together  in  one  empire,  so  that  the  universal  preaching 
might  make  its  way  quickly  through  nations  already 
united  under  the  government  of  one  state.  And  yet  that 
state,  in  ignorance  of  the  author  of  its  aggrandisement, 
though  it  ruled  almost  all  races,  was  enthralled  by  the 
errors  of  them  all ;  and  seemed  to  itself  to  have  received 
a  great  religion,  because  it  had  rejected  no  falsehood. 
And  for  this  very  reason  its  emancipation  through  Christ 
was  the  more  wondrous  that  it  had  been  so  fast  bound 
by  Satan.'  Leo  further  recognizes  that  the  Popes  are 
entering  into  the  position  of  the  Caesars  (c.  i),  that  Rome, 
'  made  the  head  of  the  world  by  being  the  holy  see  of 
blessed  Peter,  should  rule  more  widely  by  means  of  the 
divine  religion  than  of  earthly  sovereignty.'  But  his  state- 
ment of  the  relation  of  Peter  to  Paul  in  the  evangelization 
of  the  world  (c.  5)  is  remarkably  unhistorical. 


Note  B  253 


Note  B.    See  p.  29. 

The  (so-called)  '  Letters  of  Heracleitus.' 

Nine  letters  under  the  name  of  the  great  philosopher 
of  Ephesus  remain  to  us.  In  one  of  them  (iv)  Heracleitus 
is  represented  as  saying  to  some  Ephesian  adversaries, 
'  If  you  had  been  able  to  live  again  by  a  new  birth  500 
years  hence,  you  would  have  discovered  Heracleitus  yet 
alive  [i.e.  in  the  memory  of  men]  but  not  so  much  as 
a  trace  of  ^'■our  name.'  This  probably  indicates  that  the 
author  is  writing  500  years  after  Heracleitus'  supposed 
age.  His  age  was  differently  estimated.  But '  500  years 
after  Heracleitus '  would  mean,  according  to  all  reckon- 
ings, about  the  first  half  of  the  first  century  a.  d. 
All  the  other  indications  of  age  in  the  letters  agree 
with  this.  (See  Jacob  Bernays'  HeraclitiscJicn  Briefe^ 
Berhn,  1869,  p.  112.)  They  were  written  presumably  at 
Ephesus,  and  all  or  most  of  them  by  a  Stoic  philosopher. 
I  do  not  think  that  it  is  necessary  to  assume  traces  of 
Jewish  influence  in  these  letters,  any  more  than  in  the 
writings  of  Seneca.  And  the  bulk  of  the  letters  is  so 
thoroughly  Stoic  and  contrary  to  Jewish  feeling,  that 
a  Jew  is  hardly  likely  to  have  interpolated  them.  They 
illustrate  therefore  the  current  philosophic  ideas  which 
were  at  work  in  the  world  in  which  St.  Paul  Hved  and 
taught,  when  he  was  outside  Judaea.  That  St.  Paul  was 
familiar  with  these  ideas,  however  his  familiarity  may 
have  been  gained,  is  shown  beyond  possibility  of  mistake 
by  his  speeches— supposing  them  substantially  genuine — 
at  Lystra  and  Athens. 

The  following  passages  in  these  letters  are  interesting : 
(1)  (From    Heracleitus'    dclcnce    of    himself    against 


254       The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

a.  charge  of  impiety  in  letter  iv) '  Where  is  God  ?  Is  he  shut 
up  in  the  temples  ?  You  forsooth  are  pious  who  set  up  the 
God  in  a  dark  place.  A  man  takes  it  for  an  insult  if  he  is 
said  to  be  "  made  of  stone  " :  and  is  God  truly  described  as 
"born  of  the  rocks"?  Ignorant  men,  do  ye  not  know 
that  God  is  not  fashioned  with  hands,  nor  can  you  make 
him  a  sufficient  pedestal,  nor  shut  him  into  one  enclosure, 
but  the  whole  world  is  his  temple,  decorated  with  animals 
and  planets  and  stars  ?  I  inscribed  my  altar  "  to  Heracles 
the  Ephesian  "  [HPAKAEI  TOI  E^ESmi]  making  the  God 
your  citizen,  not— he  continues— to  myself  "  Heracleitus 
an  Ephesian  "  [the  same  letters  differently  divided],  as 
I  am  accused  of  doing  by  you  in  your  ignorance.  Yet 
Heracles  was  a  man  deified  by  his  goodness  and  noble 
deeds ;  and  were  his  virtues  and  labours  greater  than 
mine  ?  I  have  conquered  money  and  ambition :  I  have 
mastered  fear  and  flattery,'  &c.  Then  after  a  passage 
about  the  certainty  of  his  own  immortal  renown,  he 
returns  to  ridicule  idolatry.  '  If  an  altar  of  a  god  be  not 
set  up,  is  there  no  god  ?  or  if  an  altar  be  set  up  to  what  is 
not  a  god,  is  it  a  god— so  that  stones  become  the 
evidences  (witnesses)  of  Gods  ?  Nay  it  is  his  works 
which  shall  bear  witness  to  God,  as  the  sun,  the  day  and 
night,  the  seasons,  the  whole  fruitful  earth,  and  the  circle 
of  the  moon,  his  work  and  witness  in  the  heavens.'  The 
whole  of  this  letter  (iv),  which  can  be  paralleled  in  all  its 
ideas  from  Stoic  and  Platonic  sources,  may  compare  and 
contrast  with  Acts  xiv.  15-18 ;  xvii.  22-29. 

(2)  Letter  v  is  Vvritten  by  Heracleitus  in  sickness. 
He  gives  a  theory  of  disease  as  an  excess  of  some  element 
in  the  body;  and  describes  his  soul  as  a  divine  thing 
reproducing  in  his  body  the  healing  activity  of  God 
in  the  world  as  a  whole, — '  imitating  God  '  by  knowledge 
of  the  method  of  nature.  Even  if  his  body  prove  un- 
manageable and  succumb  to  fate,  yet  his  soul  will  rise 


Note  B  255 


to  heaven  and  *  I  shall  have  my  citizenship  {T:o\ir^\}(To\i.aL) 
not  among  men  but  among  Gods.'  '  Perhaps  my  soul 
is  giving  prophetic  intimation  of  its  release  even  now 
from  its  prison  house'  so  short  lived  and  worthless. 
Letter  vi  is  a  continuation  of  v,  containing  a  denunciation 
of  contemporary  medicine  on  the  ground  of  its  lack  of 
science,  and  a  further  explanation  of  the  Stoic  doctrine 
of  the  immanence  of  God  in  all  nature— forming, 
ordering,  dissolving,  transforming,  healing  everywhere. 
'  Him  will  I  imitate  in  myself  and  dismiss  all  others.' 
We  should  compare  and  (even  more)  contrast  St.  Paul's 
assertions  of  independence  of  bodily  circumstances  ;  his 
belief  in  the  higher  sense  of  '  nature '  (Rom.  ii.  14),  and 
such  phrases  as  Phil.  ii.  20,  '  our  citizenship  is  in  heaven,' 
Eph.  V.  I,  '  Be  ye  imitators  of  God.' 

(3)  Letter  vii  is  addressed  to  Hermodorus  in  exile. 
Heracleitus  is  to  be  exiled  also  'for  misanthropy  and 
refusal  to  smile'  by  a  law  directed  against  him  alone. 
After  an  interesting  condemnation  of  privilegia,  the  letter 
explains  his  misanthropy.  He  does  not  hate  men,  but 
their  vices.  The  law  should  run  '  If  any  man  hates  vice 
let  him  leave  the  city.'  Then  he  will  go  willingly.  In 
fact  he  is  already  an  exile  while  in  the  city,  for  he  cannot 
share  its  vices.  Then  he  describes  Ephesian  life  in  terms 
of  fierce  contempt,  their  lusts  natural  and  unnatural, 
their  frauds,  their  wars  of  words,  their  legal  contentious- 
ness, their  faithlessness  and  perjuries,  their  robberies  of 
temples.  He  denounces  their  vices  in  connexion  with 
the  worship  of  Cybele  (beating  the  kettle-drum)  and 
Dionysus  (the  eating  of  live  flesh),  and  with  religious 
vigils  and  banquets,  and  alludes  to  details  of  sensuality 
associated  with  these  meetings.  He  condemns  the  sub- 
mission of  great  principles  to  the  verdicts  of  the  crowd 
at  their  theatres,  and  passes  to  a  further  vivid  onslaught 
on  their  quarrels  and  murders  (they  arc  no  longer  men 


256      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

but  beasts),  on  their  use  of  music  to  excite  their  bloodthirsty 
passions,  and  on  war  altogether  as  contrary  to  '  the  law  of 
nature,'  and  involving  the  pursuit  of  all  sorts  of  vice. 
All  this  impeachment  may  be  compared  with  St.  Paul, 
who  speaks  however  by  comparison  with  marked  reserve, 
in  Rom,  i.  24-31,  Eph.  iv.  17-19,  and  elsewhere. 

(4)  The  eighth  letter  is  again  written  to  Hermodorus 
now  on  his  way  to  Italy  to  assist  the  Decemvirs  with  the 
Ten  Tables.  It  contains  a  somewhat  remarkable  'judge- 
ment on  wealthy  Ephesus '  and  statement  of  the  judicial 
function  of  wealth.  'God  does  not  punish  by  taking  wealth 
away,  but  rather  gives  it  to  the  wicked,  that  through 
having  opportunity  to  sin  they  may  be  convicted,  and  by 
the  very  abundance  of  their  resources  may  exhibit  their 
corruption  on  a  wider  stage.'     Cf  i  Tim.  vi.  9. 

(5)  The  banishment  of  Hermodorus  had  been  on 
account  of  a  proposed  law  to  grant  equal  citizenship  to 
freed  men,  and  the  right  of  public  ofhce  to  their  children. 
This  instance  of  Ephesian  intolerance  gives  occasion  for 
an  enunciation  of  the  Stoic  doctrine  that  the  only  real 
freedom  is  moral  freedom,  and  moral  freedom  constitutes 
a  man  a  citizen  of  the  world.  'The  good  Ephesian  is  a 
citizen  of  the  world.  For  this  is  the  common  home  of 
all,  and  its  law  is  no  written  document  but  God  {pv  ypafifxa 
dXXa  ^eo?),  and  he  who  transgresses  his  duty  shall  be 
impious  ;  or  rather  he  will  not  dare  to  transgress,  for  he 
will  not  escape  justice.'  *  Let  the  Ephesians  cease  to  be 
the  sort  of  men  they  are,  and  the}^  will  love  all  men  in  an 
equality  of  virtue.'  'Virtue,  not  the  chance  of  birth, 
makes  men  equal.'  '  Only  vice  enslaves,  only  virtue 
liberates.'  For  men  to  enslave  their  fellow  men  is  to 
fall  below  the  beasts  ;  so  also  to  mutilate  them  as  the 
Ephesians  do  their  Megabyzi— the  eunuch-priests  of  the 
wooden  image  of  Arttmis.  There  must  be  inequality  of 
function  in  the  world,  but  not  refusal  oi  fellowship,  as  the 


Note  C  257 


higher  parts  of  nature  do  not  despise  the  lower,  or  the  soul 
think  scorn  to  dwell  with  the  body,  or  the  head  despise 
the  entrails,  or  God  refuse  to  give  the  gifts  of  nature,  such 
as  the  light  of  the  sun,  to  all  equally.  Here  again  we  have 
what  is  both  like  and  unlike  St.  Paul's  doctrine  of  true 
human  liberty  and  '  fellowship  in  the  body.' 

On  the  whole  I  think  these  letters  are  worth  more 
notice  than  they  have  received,  both  in  themselves  and 
as  a  good  example  of  the  sort  of  religious  and  moral 
doctrine  current  in  the  better  heathen  circles  of  the 
Asiatic  cities,  while  St.  Paul  was  teaching.  It  presents 
many  points  of  connexion  with  St.  Paul's  teaching,  and 
co-operated  with  the  influence  of  the  Jewish  synagogue 
to  prepare  men's  minds  for  it.  But  perhaps  what  chiefly 
strikes  us  is  the  contrast  which  the  fierce  and  arrogant 
contempt  of  the  Stoic  presents  to  the  loving  hopefulness 
of  the  Christian  messenger  of  the  gospel. 


Note  C.     See  p.  74. 

The  Jewish  Doctrine  of  Works  in  The 

Apocalypse  of  Baruch. 

Mr.  R.  H.  Charles  gives  us  the  following  statement' : — 
'  The  Talmudic  doctrine  of  works  may  be  shortly  sum- 
marized as  follows  :  Every  good  work — whether  the  fulfil- 
ment of  a  command  or  an  act  of  mercy— established  a 
certain  degree  of  merit  with  God,  while  every  evil  work 
entailed  a  corresponding  demerit.  A  man's  position  with 
God  depended  on  the  relation  existing  between  his  merits 
and  demerits,  and  his  salvation  on  the  preponderance  of 
the  former  over  the  latter.     The  relation  between  his 

^   The  Apoc.  of  Banich  (A.  and  C.  Black,  1896),  p.  Ixxxii.     The 
statement  is  compiled  from  Weber,  Lehre  des  Talmuds. 


258      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

merits  and  dements  was  determined  daily  by  the  weigh- 
ing of  his  deeds.  But  as  the  results  of  such  judgements 
were  necessarily  unknown,  there  could  not  fail  to  be 
much  uneasiness ;  and,  to  allay  this,  the  doctrine  of  the 
vicarious  righteousness  of  the  patriarchs  and  saints  of 
Israel  was  developed  not  later  than  the  beginning  of  the 
Christian  era  (cf.  Matt.  iii.  9).  A  man  could  thereby 
summon  to  his  aid  the  merits  of  the  fathers,  and  so 
counterbalance  his  demerits. 

'■  It  is  obvious  that  such  a  system  does  not  admit  of 
forgiveness  in  any  spiritual  sense  of  the  term.  It  can 
only  mean  in  such  a  connexion  a  remission  of  penalty 
to  the  offender,  on  the  ground  that  compensation  is  fur- 
nished, either  through  his  own  merit  or  through  that  of 
the  righteous  fathers.  Thus,  as  Weber  vigorously  puts 
it:  "Vergebung  ohne  Bezahlung  gibt  es  nicht."  Thus, 
according  to  popular  Pharisaism,  God  never  remitted  a  debt 
until  He  was  paid  in  full,  and  so  long  as  it  was  paid  it 
mattered  not  by  whom. 

'  It  will  be  observed  that  with  the  Pharisees  forgiveness 
was  an  external  thing ;  it  was  concerned  not  with  the  man 
himself  but  with  his  works  — with  these  indeed  as  affect- 
ing him,  but  yet  as  existing  independently  without  him. 
This  was  not  the  view  taken  by  the  best  thought  in  the 
Old  Testament.  There  forgiveness  dealt  first  and  chiefl}' 
with  the  direct  relation  between  man's  spirit  and  God  ; 
it  was  essentially  a  restoration  of  man  to  communion 
with  God.  When,  therefore,  Christianity  had  to  deal 
with  these  problems,  it  could  not  accept  the  Pharisaic 
solutions,  but  had  in  some  measure  to  return  to  the  Old 
Testament  to  authenticate  and  develope  the  highest  therein 
taught,  and  in  the  person  and  life  of  Christ  to  give  it 
a  world-wide  power  and  comprehensiveness.' 

The  doctrine  called  Talmudic  in  the  above  extract 
receives  remarkable  illustration  in  a  Jewish  work,  The 


Note  C  259 


Apocalypse  of  Baruch,  which  dates  from  the  same  period 
as  the  writings  of  the  New  Testament  (a.d.  50-100 ;  or  if 
the  work  be  regarded  as  composite,  we  should  say  that 
its  component  elements  are  of  that  date),  and  represents 
to  us  in  a  very  vivid  and  touching  form  the  hopes  and 
behefs  of  a  pious  orthodox  Jew.    Thus — 

I.  The  doctrine  of  the  merit  of  good  works,  ii.  2  [words 
spoken  to  Jeremiah  by  God],  '  Your  works  are  to  this 
city  as  a  firm  pillar.'  xiv.  5  :  '  What  have  they  profited 
who  confessed  before  Thee,  and  have  not  walked  in 
vanity  as  the  rest  of  the  nations  .  .  .  but  always  feared 
Thee,  and  have  not  left  Thy  ways  ?  And,  lo,  they  have 
been  carried  off,  nor  on  their  account  hast  Thou  had 
mercy  on  Zion.  And  if  others  did  evil,  it  was  due  to 
Zion  that  on  account  of  the  works  of  those  who  wrought 
good  works  she  should  be  forgiven,  and  should  not  be 
overwhelmed  on  account  of  the  works  of  those  who 
wrought  unrighteousness.'  Ixiii.  3 :  '  Hezekiah  trusted 
in  his  works,  and  had  hope  in  his  righteousness,  and 
spake  with  the  Mighty  One  .  .  .  and  the  Mighty  One  heard 
him.'  Ixxxv.  i  :  'In  the  generations  of  old  those  our 
fathers  had  helpers,  righteous  men  and  hoty  prophets  .  .  . 
and  they  helped  us  when  we  sinned,  and  they  prayed 
for  us  to  Him  who  made  us,  because  they  trusted  in  their 
works,  and  the  Mighty  One  heard  their  prayer  and  was 
gracious  unto  us.'  li.  7 :  '  But  those  who  have  been 
saved  by  their  works,  and  to  whom  the  law  has  been  now 
a  hope,  and  understanding  an  expectation,  and  wisdom 
a  confidence,  to  them  wonders  will  appear  in  their  time.' 

It  is  very  noticeable  in  the  above  quotations  that  it  is 
the  works  of  the  righteous  rather  than  their  persons  (as 
in  Genesis  xviii.  23-33)  that  are  put  forward  as  the 
grounds  of  confidence  with  God.  The  claim  of  righteous- 
ness in  the  second  quotation  (xiv.  5)  may  be  paralleled 
in  the  somewhat  earlier  work  called  The  Assumption 
S  2 


26o      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

of  Moses  ^  :  '  Observe  and  know  that  neither  did  our 
fathers  nor  their  forefathers  tempt  God  so  as  to  trans- 
gress His  commandments.' 

2.  The  doctrine  of  the  treasury  of  merits.  The  good  works 
of  the  righteous  are  laid  up  as  in  a  treasury  to  avail  for 
themselves  and  for  others.  Thus  (xiv.  12) :  'The  righteous 
justly  hope  for  the  end,  and  without  fear  depart  from  this 
habitation,  because  they  have  with  Thee  a  store  of  works 
preserved  in  treasuries.'  xxiv.  i :  '  Behold  the  days  come 
when  the  books  will  be  opened  in  which  are  written 
the  sins  of  all  those  that  have  sinned,  and  again  also  the 
treasuries  in  which  the  righteousness  of  all  those  who 
have  been  righteous  in  creation  is  gathered.' 

The  connexion  of  the  mediaeval  doctrine  of  the  trea- 
sury of  merits  with  the  similar  Jewish  doctrine  needs  to 
be  traced  out. 

3.  Righteousness  identified  with  the  keeping  of  the  taw. 
For  the  Pharisaic  Jew  righteousness  meant  simply  the 
keeping  of  the  law.  Thus  xv.  5  :  'Man  would  not  have 
rightly  understood  My  judgement  if  he  had  not  accepted 
the  law.'  Again,  Ixvii.  6 :  *  So  far  as  Zion  is  delivered 
up  and  Jerusalem  laid  waste  .  .  .  the  vapour  of  the  smoke 
of  the  incense  of  righteousness  which  is  by  the  law  is 
extinguished  in  Zion.'  Thus  the  merits  of  Abraham  are 
attributed  to  his  having  kept  the  law  before  it  was 
written.  Ivii.  2  :  'At  that  time  the  unwritten  law  was 
named  among  them,  and  the  works  of  the  commandments 
were  then  fulfilled.' 

Of  course  it  must  be  said  that  'the  Law'  may  mean 
the  ceremonial  law,  as  in  the  lower  form  of  Jewish 
thought,  or  special  stress  may  be  laid  on  its  moral  pre- 
cepts, as  is  the  case  in  Baruch,  and  in  the  higher  Jewish 
teaching  generally. 

^  Edited  also  by  R.  H.  Charles  (A.  and  C.  Black,  1897),  p.  37. 


Note  C  261 


4.  The  Gentiles  are  therefore  incapable  of  righteousness. 
Ixii.  7 :  '  But  regarding  the  Gentiles  it  were  tedious  to 
tell  how  they  always  wrought  impiety  and  wickedness, 
and  never  wrought  righteousness.'  Thus  the  best  hope 
of  the  Gentiles  is  that  in  the  Messianic  kingdom  the}^ 
should  become  servants  to  Israel.  This  will  be  their  lot 
if  they  have  never  vexed  the  holy  people  ;  see  Ixxii.  2-6. 

5.  The  world  created  on  account  of  Israel,  xiv.  18 : 
'  Thou  didst  say  that  Thou  wouldst  make  for  Thy  world 
man  as  the  administrator  of  Thy  works,  that  it  might  be 
known  that  he  was  by  no  means  made  on  account  of  the 
world  but  the  world  on  account  of  him.  [But  "  man"  is  at 
once  interpreted  as  the  Jewish  race.]  And  now  I  see 
that  as  for  the  world  which  was  made  on  account  of  us, 
lo  !  it  abides,  but  we  on  account  of  whom  it  was  made 
depart '  [i.  e.  into  captivity],  xv.  7 :  '  As  regards  what  thou 
didst  say  touching  the  righteous,  that  on  account  of  them 
has  this  world  come  into  being,  nay  more,  even  that 
world  which  is  to  come  is  on  their  account.'  xxi.  23  : 
'  Reprove  therefore  the  angel  of  death  .  .  .  and  let  the 
treasuries  of  souls  restore  them  that  are  enclosed  in 
them,  for  there  have  been  many  years  like  those  that  are 
desolate,  from  the  days  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob, 
and  of  all  those  who  are  like  them,  who  sleep  in  the 
earth,  on  whose  account  Thou  didst  say  that  Thou  hadst 
created  the  world.'  (This  idea  of  the  treasury  of  the 
souls  of  the  righteous  recurs  in  xxx.  2.)  In  The  Assump- 
tion of  Moses  (i.  12)  it  is  said, '  God  hath  created  the  world 
on  behalf  of  His  people.  But  He  was  not  pleased  to 
manifest  this  purpose  of  creation  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world,  in  order  that  the  Gentiles  might  thereby  be 
convicted  [i.e.  of  ignorance],  yea  to  their  own  humiliation 
might  by  their  arguments  convict  one  another.' 

The  above  teaching  shows  us  exactly  what  it  was  to 
which  St.  Paul  opposed  his  doctrine  of  Justification  by 


262      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

Faith.  We  see  it  here  on  its  own  ground.  Its  close 
association  with  '  boasting'  is  apparent  even  in  its  better 
form ;  and  its  view  of  election  contrasts,  by  its  selfish 
narrowness,  with  the  view  of  election  put  forward  by 
St.  Paul,  viz.  that  God's  election  of  a  chosen  people  or 
society,  together  with  His  apparent  reprobation  of 
others  left  outside,  both  alike  subserve  a  purpose  of  infinite 
width,  the  ultimate  divine  purpose  to  *  have  mercy  upon 
all.'  See  Romans  ix-xi,  especially  xi.  32,  and  cf.  Eph.  i. 
9-10 :  '  the  secret  of  His  will  with  a  view  to  the  dispen- 
sation of  the  fulness  of  the  times,  to  bring  together  all 
things  in  the  Christ,  things  in  heaven  and  things  in  earth.' 

The  marked  contrast  between  the  doctrine  of  Baruch 
and  the  doctrine  of  St.  Paul  must  of  course  be  admitted 
in  general ;  but  it  has  been  asked  whether  the  doctrine 
of  the  Atonement  is  not  a  fragment  of  the  abandoned 
Jewish  doctrine  of  merit,  borrowed  inconsistently  by 
St.  Paul,  or  inconsistently  tolerated  by  him.  To  this  the 
reply  is  surely  in  the  negative.  The  Jews  undoubtedly 
held  that  Enoch,  Moses,  Jeremiah,  and  others  were,  on 
account  of  their  righteousness,  the  accepted  mediators 
with  God  on  behalf  of  the  chosen  people,  and  propitiators 
of  His  wrath  (see  especially  Assumption  of  Moses,  xi,  and 
passages  from  Baruch  cited  above).  But  the  doctrine  of 
the  Atonement,  when  it  is  examined,  proves  to  have 
one  feature  which  puts  it  into  marked  opposition  with 
the  Judaic  doctrine  of  human  merit. 

According  to  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the  Atonement, 
Christ  is  purely  and  simply  God's  gift  to  man.  He  is  the 
Son  of  God,  given  to  man  by  the  Father,  in  order  that, 
taking  our  nature  upon  Him,  living  the  perfect  human 
life,  and  dying  the  death  of  perfect  obedience.  He  might 
satisfy  the  divine  requirement,  which  we  could  not  satisfy, 
and  procure  for  us  what  we  could  not  procure  for  our- 
selves, no,  not  the  best  of  us.    Therefore  this  doctrine 


Note  C  263 


puts  all  men,  the  best  and  worst  alike,  in  the  common 
attitude  of  simply  receiving  from  God,  as  an  unmerited 
boon,  the  gift  of  forgiveness  and  reconciliation  in  Christ. 
It  is  in  fact  the  strongest  possible  negation  of  the  Jewish 
idea  of  human  merit,  personal  or  vicarious. 

In  other  respects  the  doctrine  oi  The  Apocalypse  ofBaruch 
affords  at  once  interesting  contrasts  and  parallels  to 
St.  Paul's  doctrine.    Thus — 

{a)  In  Baruch  as  in  St.  Paul,  we  have  a  combination  of 
the  doctrine  of  divine  predestination  with  the  insistence 
on  human  free  will  and  responsibility.  Ixix.  4 :  '  Of  the 
good  works  of  the  righteous  which  should  be  accomplished 
before  Him,  He  foresaw  six  kinds '  should  be  compared 
with  Eph.  ii.  10 :  '  Good  works  which  God  prepared 
beforehand  that  we  should  walk  in  them.' 

(6)  The  eschatology  of  the  New  Testament,  including 
St.  Paul's,  is  of  course  especially  Jewish.  It  does  not 
however  concern  us  much  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  ; 
but  we  notice  that  in  The  Apocalypse  of  Baruch  the  idea  of 
'the  consummation  of  the  times'  (cf.  Eph.  i.  10,  'the 
fulness  of  the  times ')  appears  and  reappears  constantly. 
See  xiii.  3 ;  xxi.  8,  17  ;  xxx.  3 ;  xlii.  6  ;  liv.  21 ;  Ivi.  2  ; 
lix.  4  ;  Ixix.  4,  5  ;  cf.  The  Assumption  of  Moses,  i.  18  :  '  The 
consummation  of  the  end  of  the  days.' 

(c)  The  connexion  of  St.  Paul's  doctrine  with  the  Jewish 
doctrine  is  also  illustrated  in  The  Apocalypse  of  Baruch 
on  the  following  points.  That  the  Gentiles  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  the  knowledge  of  God  through  His  works  in  nature, 
but  refused  it.  See  Baruch,  liv.  18,  and  cf.  Romans,  i.  20 : 
The  pre-existence  of  the  Messiah.  This  is  suggested  but 
not  very  clearly  stated  in  xxx.  i,  cf.  Charles's  note  and 
The  Assumption  of  Moses,  i.  14,  where  the  pre-existence  of 
Moses  seems  to  be  asserted.  Again,  the  Fall  of  Adam 
and  its  effect  in  introducing  death  {or  premature  death)  into 
the  world.     See  xxiii.  4  ;    xlviii.  42 ;   liv.  15 ;  Ivi.  6,  and 


264      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephestans 

Charles's  notes.  Once  more  The  Resurrection  of  the  Body. 
See  Baruch,  1 ;  li.  On  all  these  points  we  see  what  was 
the  material  in  existing  Jewish  thought  or,  in  other  words, 
what  were  the  existing  developements  of  Old  Testament 
belief,  which  the  Christian  inspiration  had  to  work  upon. 
The  effect  of  the  specifically  Christian  inspiration  is  chiefly 
seen  (i)  in  selection  among  existing  beliefs— taking  some 
and  utterly  rejecting  others ;  (2)  in  giving  a  definite  and 
fixed  form  to  current  Messianic  and  other  ideas  which  were 
continuall}^  shifting  and  incoherent ;  and  (3)  in  spiritualiz- 
ing and  moralizing  what  it  appropriated.  Of  course  it  is 
in  the  Revelation  or  Apocalypse  of  St.  John  that  we  have 
the  most  signal  instance  of  the  New  Testament  use  of 
contemporary  Jewish  material.  But  such  material  holds 
a  very  large  place  in  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament,  and 
there  is  no  more  important  assistance  to  the  study  of  the 
New  Testament  than  is  afforded  by  contemporary  Jewish 
literature,  especially  that  of  an  Apocal3^ptic  character. 


Note  D.     See  p.  120. 

The  Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew 

After  the  above  passage  was  written,  as  to  the  need 
amongst  us  of  a  deeper  idea  of  the  obligations  of  church 
membership,  it  fell  to  my  lot  to  go  to  the  United  States, 
to  make  acquaintance  with  the  work  of  the  Brotherhood 
of  St.  Andrew  in  that  country,  and  to  assist  at  its  general 
convention  in  Buffalo.  It  seemed  to  me  that  nothing 
could  be  better  calculated  to  revive  the  true  spirit  of 
laymanship  than  that  society,  '  formed  in  recognition  of 


Note  D  265 


the  fact  that  every  Christian  man  is  pledged  to  devote 
his  life  to  the  spread  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  on  earth.' 

It  was  started  among  a  small  band  of  young  men,  of 
the  number  of  the  apostles,  nearly  fifteen  years  ago,  in 
St.  James's  parish,  Chicago,  and  has  spread  till  to- 
day it  numbers  more  than  1,200  parochial  chapters  in 
the  United  States  alone,  and  has  taken  firm  root  in 
Canada  and  other  parts  of  the  world.  It  has  a  double 
rule  of  Prayer  and  of  Service.  The  point  of  the  service 
required  is  that  it  should  have  the  character  especially 
of  witness  among  a  man's  equals.  So  much  *  church 
work '  is  directed  towards  raising  those  who  are  in  some 
ways  our  inferiors,  that  we  forget  that  the  real  test  of 
a  man  is  the  witness  he  bears  for  Christ  among  his 
equals.  There  is  many  a  man  who,  especially  in  his 
youth,  fails  to  confess  Christ  in  his  own  society,  and  then, 
if  I  may  so  express  it,  sneaks  round  the  corner  to  do 
something  to  raise  the  degraded  or  takes  orders  and 
preaches  the  gospel.  Nobody  can  possibly  disparage 
these  efforts  of  love,  but  a  certain  character  of  cowardice 
continues  to  attach  to  them,  if  they  are  not  based  on  a 
frank  witness  for  Christ  in  a  man's  own  walk  of  life, 
where  it  is  hardest.  It  is  this  witness  which  the  Brother- 
hood requires. 

The  particular  rule  is  '  to  make  an  earnest  effort  each 
week  to  bring  some  one  young  man  within  hearing  of 
the  Gospel  of  Christ  as  set  forth  in  the  services  of  the 
Church  and  in  men's  Bible  classes.'  This  rule  is  no 
doubt  open  to  criticism.  But  it  is  interpreted  in  the 
spirit  rather  than  in  the  letter,  and  for  its  definite  require- 
ment it  is  successfully  pleaded  that  it  keeps  the  members 
from  vagueness  and  slackness. 

Certainly  the  result  appears  to  be  excellent.  The 
brethren  are  pervaded  by  a  spirit  of  frank  religious  pro- 
fession and  devotion.     There  appears  to  be  a  general 


266      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephestans 

tone  among  them  of  reality  and  good  sense.  Their  mis- 
sionary zeal  does  not  degenerate  into  an  intrusive  prying 
into  other  men's  souls. 

The  Brotherhood  was  developed  in  the  atmosphere  of 
the  United  States,  and  it  remains  a  question  whether  it  will 
flourish  in  England.  The  more  sharply  defined  distinc- 
tions of  classes  among  us  ;  our  exaggerated  parochialism  ; 
the  shyness  and  reserve  in  religious  matters  which 
characterizes  many  really  religious  Englishmen  and  de- 
generates into  a  sort  of '  hypocrisy  reversed,'  or  pretence 
of  being  less  religious  than  one  is  —  these  things  will 
constitute  grave  obstacles.  But  the  need  is  at  least  as 
crying  among  us,  as  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  to 
emphasize  among  professing  Christians  and  churchmen 
the  duty  of  witness.  At  least  we  may  trust  the  Brother- 
hood will  be  given  a  good  trial.  But  if  it  is  to  have  a  fair 
chance  among  us,  the  greatest  care  must  be  taken  that 
it  should  develope  as  a  properly  lay  movement ;  and 
while  it  receives  all  encouragement  from  the  clergy, 
should  not  be  taken  up  by  them  to  be  turned  into  a  guild 
of  '  church  workers,'  useful  for  purposes  of  parochial 
organization. 

One  of  the  most  striking  facts  about  the  Brotherhood 
in  the  States  is  that,  while  the  church  spirit  is  unmistak- 
able—as no  one  who  was  present  at  the  corporate  Com- 
munion of  1,300  delegates  in  October  of  this  year  at  half- 
past  six  in  the  morning  in  a  great  church  at  Buffalo  could 
possibly  doubt— it  has  successfully  avoided  becoming 
either  a  party  society  or  a  society  rent  by  factions. 

It  is  because  I  beheve  the  witness  of  this  Brotherhood 
to  the  true  church  spirit  has  already  proved  invaluable 
that  I  venture  to  dedicate  this  little  exposition  of  the 
great  book  of  brotherhood— though  without  leave  granted 
or  asked— to  its  founder  and  president. 


Note  E  267 


Note  E.     See  pp.  164,  166. 

The  Conception  of  the  Church  (Catholic)  in  St.  Paul 
IN  ITS  Relation  to  Local  Churches. 

By  far  the  most  frequent  use  of  the  word  '  church  '  or 
'  churches '  in  the  New  Testament  is  to  designate  a  local 
society  of  Christians  or  a  number  of  such  societies  taken 
together,  'the  church  at  Jerusalem,'  'the  church  at 
Antioch,'  'the  churches  of  Galatia,'  'the  seven  churches 
which  are  in  Asia,'  'all  the  churches.'  But  it  is  used  also 
for  the  church  as  a  whole.  In  fact,  before  Christ's 
coming  the  word  in  the  Greek  of  the  Old  Testament  had 
passed  from  meaning  an  assembly  of  the  people,  as  in 
classical  Greek,  to  meaning  the  sacred  people  as  a  whole  \ 
as  St.  Stephen  uses  it  in  his  speech  '  The  church  in  the 
wilderness  '  (Acts  vii.  38).  And  it  is  exactly  in  this  sense 
that  it  is  used  by  our  Lord  in  St.  Matthew,  xvi.  18.  '  The 
church '  which  our  Lord  there  promises  to  '  build '  is  the 
Church  of  the  New  Covenant  as  a  whole.  We  might 
paraphrase  His  words  (as  Dr.  Hort  suggests^)  'on  this 
rock  I  will  build  my  Israel.'  Thus  there  is  throughout 
the  Acts  and  St.  Paul's  earlier  epistles,  a  tendency  to 
pass  from  the  use  of  '  church '  as  a  local  society  to  its 
use  as  designating  the  whole  body  of  the  faithful.  This 
was  but  natural  seeing  that  each  local  society  did  but 
represent  the  one  divine  society,  the  church  of  the  Old 
Covenant,  refounded  by  Christ.  See  Acts  ix.  31  :  '  The 
church  throughout  all  Judaea  and  Galilee  and  Samaria.' 

'  Not,  as  Dr.  Hort  points  out  {Christian  Ecclesia,  p.  5),  '  the 
elect  (called-out)  people.'  The  word  has  in  fact  no  such  associa- 
tion attached  to  it. 

^  pp.  10,  II. 


268      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

xii.  I :  '  Herod  the  king  put  forth  his  hands  to  afflict 
certain  of  the  church.'  xx.  28:  'The  church  of  God 
which  he  purchased  with  his  own  blood.'  Gal.  i.  13 : 
'  I  persecuted  the  church  of  God.'  i  Cor.  xii.  28  :  '  God 
hath  set  some  in  the  church,  first  apostles,'  &c.  In  this 
last  passage  and  in  St.  Paul's  speech  to  the  Ephesian 
elders  this  general  use  of  the  term  is  unmistakable. 

In  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  in  which  alone  among 
his  epistles  St.  Paul  is  writing  not  about  the  difficulties 
or  needs  of  a  particular  congregation,  but  about  the  church 
in  its  general  conception,  this  larger  use  of  the  term 
becomes  dominant.  And  the  point  to  be  noticed  is  that 
the  church  in  general,  or  catholic  church,  is  conceived 
of,  not  as  made  up  of  local  churches,  but  as  made  up  of 
individual  members.  The  local  church  would  be  regarded 
by  St.  Paul  not  as  one  element  of  a  catholic  confederacy  \ 
but  as  the  local  representative  of  the  one  divine  and 
catholic  society  ^  But  the  local  church  is  not,  according 
to  St.  Paul,  a  completely  independent  representative  of 
the  church  as  a  whole.  The  apostles,  as  commissioned 
witnesses  and  representatives  of  Christ,  are  over  all  the 
churches.  They,  or  their  recognized  associates  and 
delegates,  like  Barnabas,  Timothy  and  Titus,  represent 
the  general  church  which  every  local  church  must,  so 
to  speak,  reproduce.  The  apostles  therefore,  or  their 
representatives,  give  to  each  church  when  it  is  first 
founded  '  the  tradition '  of  truth  and  morals  which  is 
permanently  to  mould  it ;  and  they  maintain  the  tradition 
by  a  more  or  less  constant  supervision.    Thus  they  are 


^  Unless  indeed,  in  Eph.  iii.  2t,  we  should  understand  'every 
building '  as  meaning  every  local  church  which,  fitted  together 
with  every  other,  grows  into  a  holy  temple,  i.  e.  into  that  which 
only  a  really  catholic  church  can  be. 

*  The  same  statement  would  be  true  of  St.  Ignatius  of  Antioch. 


Note  E  269 


the  force  which  holds  all  'the  churches'  together  on 
a  common  basis.  '  So  ordain  I,'  says  St.  Paul,  'in  all  the 
churches  \'  '  Hold  fast  the  traditions  even  as  I  delivered 
them  to  you  V  The  apostle  has,  he  teaches,  an  '  authority ' 
commensurate  with  his  '  stewardship  ^,'  an  authority 
'  which  the  Lord  gave  for  the  edification  and  not  the 
destruction  * '  of  the  Christians,  but  which  at  times  must 
take  the  form  of  a  '  rod  '  of  chastisement  ^  The  complete 
doctrinal  and  moral  independence  of  particular  Churches 
is  strongly  denied  by  St.  Paul  in  such  phrases  as  '  Came 
the  word  of  God  unto  you  alone.?'  or,  'If  any  man 
preacheth  unto  you  any  gospel  other  than  that  which  ye 
received,  let  him  be  anathema  ^.' 

Dr.  Hort's  work  on  The  Christian  Ecdesia,  in  many 
respects,  as  would  be  expected,  most  admirable,  seems 
to  me  to  minimize  quite  extraordinarily  the  apostolic 
authority.  The  apostles,  he  says,  were  only  witnesses 
of  Christ.  '  There  is  no  trace  in  Scripture  of  a  formal 
commission  of  authority  for  government  from  Christ 
Himself.'  This  surprising  conclusion  is  reached  by 
omitting  many  considerations.  Thus  in  St.  Matthew  xvi. 
19  a  definite  grant  of  official  authority— as  appears  in  the 
passage,  Is.  xxii.  22,  on  which  it  is  based — is  promised  to 
St.  Peter,  and  he  is  on  this  occasion,  as  Dr.  Hort  himself 
maintains,  the  representative  of  the  apostles  generally. 
This  stewardship  granted  to  the  apostles,  to  shepherd 
the  flock  and  feed  the  household  of  God,  is  implied  again 
in  St.  Luke  xii.  42,  St.  John  xxi.  15-17 ;  and  it  seems  to 
be  quite  unreasonable  to  dissociate  the  authoritative 
commission  to  'absolve  and  retain,'  St.  John  xx.  20-23, 
from  the  apostolic  office.     Dr.  Hort  w^ould  apparently 


'  I  Cor.  vii.  17.  *  I  Cor.  xi.  2,  xv.  2. 

^  I  Cor.  ix.  17.  *  2  Cor.  x.  8. 

*  1  Cor.  iv.  21.  *  I  Cor.  xiv.  36  ;  Gal.  i.  8. 


270      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

dissociate  such  passages  as  those  last  referred  to  from 
the  apostoHc  office,  and  assign  them  to  the  church 
as  a  whole.  But  how  then  does  he  account  for  the 
authority  inherent  in  the  apostolic  office,  as  it  is  repre- 
sented by  St.  Paul,  and  in  the  Acts?  St.  Paul's  con- 
ception of  the  authority'  of  the  apostles  is  barely  considered 
b}^  him ;  and  the  authority  of  the  apostolate  in  the  Acts 
is  strangely  minimized.  Nothing  is  said  of  Simon's  im- 
pression—surely a  true  one— that  the  apostles  had  the 
'authority'  to  convey  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  by  the 
laying  on  of  hands  (viii.  19).  Certainly  the  phrases  used 
toward  the  churches  of  Antioch,  Syria,  and  Cilicia,  '  to 
whom  we  gave  no  commandment,'  '  it  seemed  good  to 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  to  us  to  lay  upon  you  no  greater 
burden  than  these  necessary  things,'  imply  a  govern- 
mental authority,  which,  if  it  is  shared  by  the  presbyters, 
is  substantially  that  of  the  apostles  (Acts  xv.  24-28). 

Dr.  Hort  also  minimizes  greatly  the  element  of  official 
authority  which  appears  almost  at  once  in  the  church  by 
apostolic  appointment  and  delegation.  No  doubt  there 
was  at  first  an  authority  allowed— as  must  always  be 
allowed — to  the  acknowledged  possessors  of  extraordinary 
divine  gifts,  especially  to  the  '  prophets.'  But  in  the 
period  of  St.  Paul's  later  activity,  when  he  is  facing  the 
future  of  the  church  and  has  apparently  ceased  to  expect 
an  immediate  return  of  Christ,  these  special  gifts  retire 
into  the  background,  while  the  ordinary  functions  of 
government,  and  administration  of  the  word  and  sacra- 
ments, remain  in  the  position  which  they  are  permanently 
to  occupy  in  the  hands  of  regularly  ordained  officers. 

Dr.  Hort  deals,  as  it  seems  to  me,  most  unreasonably 
with  the  pastoral  epistles.  It  is  surely  arbitrary  to 
dissociate  '  the  gift  which  was  in  Timothy  by  the  laying  on 
of  St.  Paul's  hands,'  the  gift  of '  power,  and  love,  and  dis- 
cipHne  '  which  Timothy  is  to  *  stir  up '  (2  Tim.  i.  6),  from 


Note  F  271 


that  mentioned  in  the  first  epistle  (iv.  14),  'the  gift 
that  is  in  thee,  which  was  given  thee  by  prophecy,  with 
the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  presbyters  ' ;  and  to 
make  the  former  a  '  gift '  of  merely  personal  piety.  And 
(even  if  the  'lay  hands  suddenly  on  no  man'  be  inter- 
preted, as  Ellicott  and  Hort  would  interpret  it,  of  the 
reception  of  a  penitent)  it  seems  absurd  to  doubt,  in  view 
of  what  is  said  about  the  laying  on  of  hands  in  ordination 
of  '  the  seven '  and  of  the  '  evangelist '  Timothy,  and  in 
view  of  the  place  it  held  generally  for  conveying  spiritual 
gifts  in  the  Christian  Church,  that  this  was  the  accepted 
method  of  ordination  in  all  cases  ;  there  being  in  fact  no 
evidence  to  the  contrary. 

Once  more,  Dr.  Hort  is  surely  maintaining  an  impossible 
position  when,  even  in  face  of  the  salutation  to  the 
Philippians,  he  denies  that  the  term  '  episcopus '  is  used 
in  the  New  Testament  as  a  regular  title  of  an  ecclesiastical 
office. 

Not  even  Dr.  Hort  s  reputation  for  soundness  of  judge- 
ment could  stand  against  many  postumous  publications 
such  as  The  Christian  Ecclesia. 


Note  ¥.     See  p.  188. 

The  Ethics  of  Catholicism. 

The  world  at  large  is  fully  aware  of  the  claim  of 
'Catholicism,'  i.e.  the  claim  of  the  one  visible  church 
for  all  sorts  of  men.  But  the  ethical  meaning  of  the 
claim  has  been  strangely  subordinated  to  its  theological 
and  sacerdotal  aspects.  Its  ethical  meaning  seems  to 
me  to  require  developing  under  heads  such  as  these  : — 

I.  The  requirement  of  mutual  forbearance  if  men  of 
all  races  and  classes  and  idiosyncrasies  are  to  be  bound 


272      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

to  belong  to  one  organization  and  to  worship  in  common, 
'  breaking  the  one  bread.'  Herein  lies  the  moral 
discipline  of  Catholicism  :    see  above,  pp.  123  foil. 

2.  The  consequent  obligation  of  toleration  in  theology, 
ritual,  &c.,  on  all  matters  which  do  not  touch  the  actual 
basis  of  the  Christian  faith.  St.  Cyprian,  though  he 
beheved  that  those  baptized  outside  the  church  were 
not  baptized  at  all,  yet  deliberately  remained  in  com- 
munion with  those  bishops  who  thought  differently, 
trusting  to  the  mercy  of  God  to  supply  the  supposed 
deficiency  in  those  who,  outside  his  jurisdiction,  were 
admitted  into  the  church,  as  he  believed,  without 
baptism.  And  St.  Augustine,  who,  most  of  ancient 
writers,  understands  the  moral  meaning  of  Catholicism, 
repeatedly  holds  up  this  toleration  of  Cyprian  as  an 
example  to  the  Donatist  separatists  of  his  own  day : 
'  If  you  seek  advice  from  the  blessed  Cyprian,  hear 
how  much  he  anticipates  from  the  mere  advantage  of 
unity :  so  much  so  that  he  did  not  separate  himself 
from  those  who  held  different  opinions :  and,  though 
he  thought  that  those  who  are  baptized  outside  the 
communion  of  the  church  do  not  receive  baptism  at 
all,  yet  he  believed  that  those  who  had  thus  been  simply 
admitted  into  the  church  could  on  no  other  ground 
than  the  bond  of  unity  come  under  the  divine  pardon.' 
Then  he  quotes  Cyprian's  words  :  '  But  some  one  will 
say :  what  will  happen  to  those  who  in  the  past,  when 
coming  from  heresy  to  the  church,  have  been  admitted 
without  baptism  1  (I  reply) :  God  is  powerful  to  grant 
them  forgiveness  by  His  mercy,  and  not  to  separate 
from  the  gifts  of  His  church  those  who,  after  being  thus 
simply  admitted  into  her,  have  fallen  asleep.'  And 
again:  'judging  no  man  and  separating  no  man  from  the 
rights  of  communion  because  he  thinks  differently.' 
And     St.    Augustine    continues  :     '  All    these    catholic 


Note  F  273 


unity  embraces  in  her  motherly  bosom,  bearing  one 
another's  burdens  in  turn  and  endeavouring  to  keep  the 
unity  of  the  spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace,  until,  in  what- 
ever respect  they  disagreed,  the  Lord  should  reveal  (the 
truth)  to  one  or  the  other  of  them\'  Not  to  St.  Paul 
then,  only,  but  to  St.  Cyprian  and  St.  Augustine, 
doctrinal  toleration  is  an  essential  of  Catholicism.  Would 
to  God  the  claim  of  the  one  church  had  not  come  to  be 
associated  so  generally  with  the  opposite  tendency  !  See 
above,  pp.  158  f. 

3.  Catholicism,  as  meaning  a  church  of  all  races  and 
sorts  of  people,  postulates  a  constant  missionary  enthu- 
siasm in  all  the  members  of  the  church  till  this  ideal 
be  realized.  '  To  do  the  work  of  an  evangelist,'  to  have 
the  'feet  shod  with  the  preparation  of  the  Gospel  of 
peace,'  to  be  content  to  leave  nothing  but  evil  outside 
the  church— that  is  to  be  a  real  cathoHc. 

4.  To  St.  Paul's  mind  the  cathohcism  of  the  church 
is  to  lead  the  way  to  an  even  wider  'reconciliation.' 
Through  the  catholic  union  of  men  in  the  church  the 
whole  universe  is  to  come  back  into  unity.  The  kingdom 
of  God  is  to  be  something  wider  than  the  church  which 
exists  to  prepare  for  it.  This  principle  once  recognized 
secures  that  the  church  shall  feel  and  exhibit  a  constant 
interest  in  all  departments  of  knowledge  and  progress. 
The  universe  is  one,  and  redemption  is  for  the  whole. 

5.  Catholicism  is  the  antithesis  of  esotericism.  All— 
men  and  women,  slave  or  free,  Greek  or  Scythian— are 
capable  of  full  initiation  into  Christianity.  All— not 
apostles  and  presbyter-bishops  and  deacons  only— but 
all  Christians  make  up  the  high  priestly  body  and  have 
on  their  foreheads  the  anointing  oil :  see  above,  pp.  iii  flf. 

Forbearance    between    divergent    classes    and   races 
and  individuals— doctrinal  toleration— missionary  enthu- 
^  S.  Aug.  de  Baptismo,  ii.  [xiii.]  18,  [xiv.]  20. 
T 


274      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

siasm— universal  sympathy — recognition  of  a  universal 
priesthood  of  Christianity — these  constitute  the  moral 
content  of  Pauline  Catholicism. 


*  Note  G.     See  p.  190. 

The  Lambeth  Conference  and  Industrial  Problems. 

The  '  Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  Lambeth  Con- 
ference appointed  to  consider  and  report  upon  the  office 
of  the  Church  with  respect  to  industrial  problems — 
{a)  the  unemployed  ;  {b)  industrial  co-operation,'  is  so 
much  to  the  point  as  a  statement  of  Christian  social  duty 
that  I  venture  to  reproduce  the  first  part  of  it  here. 

'  The  Committee  desire  to  begin  their  Report  with  words 
of  thankful  recognition  that  throughout  the  Church  of  Christ, 
and  not  least  in  the  Churches  of  our  own  Communion, 
there  has  been  a  marked  increase  of  solicitude  about  the 
problems  of  industrial  and  social  life,  and  of  sympathy 
with  the  struggles,  sufferings,  responsibilities,  and 
anxieties,  which  those  problems  involve. 

'  They  hope  that  they  rightly  discern  in  this  some  in- 
creasing reflection  in  modern  shape  of  the  likeness  of  the 
Lord,  in  whose  blessed  life  zeal  for  the  souls,  and 
sympathy  for  the  bodily  needs  of  men  were  undivided 
fruits  of  a  single  love. 

'  The  Committee,  before  proceeding  to  touch  upon  two 
specific  parts  of  the  subject,  desire  to  record  briefly  what 
they  deem  to  be  certain  principles  of  Christian  duty  in 
such  matters. 

'The  primary  duty  of  the  Church,  as  such,  and,  within 
her,  of  the  Clergy,  is  that  of  ministry  to  men  in  the  things 
of  character,  conscience,  and  faith.  In  doing  this,  she 
also   does   her   greatest   social   duty.     Character  in  the 


Note  G  27S 


citizen  is  the  first  social  need  ;  character,  with  its  securi- 
ties in  a  candid,  enlightened,  and  vigorous  conscience, 
and  a  strong  faith  in  goodness  and  in  God.  The  Church 
owes  this  duty  to  all  classes  alike.  Nothing  must  be 
allowed  to  distract  her  from  it,  or  needlessly  to  impede 
or  prejudice  her  in  its  discharge  ;  and  this  requires  of  the 
Clergy,  as  spiritual  officers,  the  exercise  of  great  dis- 
cretion in  any  attempt  to  bring  within  their  sphere  work 
of  a  more  distinctively  social  kind. 

'  But  while  this  cannot  be  too  strongly  said,  it  is  not  the 
whole  truth.  Character  is  influenced  at  every  point  by 
social  conditions ;  and  active  conscience,  in  an  industrial 
society,  will  look  for  moral  guidance  on  industrial 
matters. 

'  Economic  science  does  not  claim  to  give  this,  its  task 
being  to  inform  but  not  to  determine  the  conscience  and 
judgement.  But  we  believe  that  Christ  our  Master  does 
give  such  guidance  by  His  example  and  teachings,  and 
by  the  present  workings  of  His  Spirit ;  and  therefore 
under  Him  Christian  authority  must  in  a  measure  do  the 
same,  the  authority,  that  is,  of  the  whole  Christian  body, 
and  of  an  enlightened  Christian  opinion.  This  is  part  of 
the  duty  of  the  Christian  Society,  as  witnessing  for  Christ 
and  representing  Him  in  this  present  world,  occupied 
with  His  work  of  setting  up  the  Kingdom  of  God,  under 
and  amidst  the  natural  conditions  of  human  life.  In  this 
work  the  clergy,  whose  special  duty  it  is  to  ponder  the 
bearings  of  Christian  principles,  have  their  part ;  but  the 
Christian  laity,  who  deal  directly  with  the  social  and 
economic  facts,  can  do  even  more. 

'  The  Committee  believe  that  it  would  be  wholly  wrong 
for  Christian  authority  to  attempt  to  interfere  with  the 
legitimate  evolution  of  economic  and  social  thought  and 
life  by  taking  a  side  corporately  in  the  debates  between 
rival  social  theories  or  systems.  It  will  not  (for  example), 
T  2 


276      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

at  the  present  day,  attempt  to  identify  Christian  duty  with 
the  acceptance  of  systems  based  respectively  on  collective 
or  individual  ownership  of  the  means  of  production. 

'  But  they  submit  that  Christian  social  duty  will  operate 
in  tvv^o  directions  : — 

'i.  The  recognition,  inculcation,  and  application  of 
certain  Christian  principles.  They  offer  the  following  as 
examples : — 

ia)  The  principle  of  Brotherhood.  This  principle  of 
Brotherhood,  or  Fellowship  in  Christ,  proclaiming, 
as  it  does,  that  men  are  members  one  of  another, 
should  act  in  all  the  relations  of  life  as  a  constant 
counterpoise  to  the  instinct  of  competition. 
{h)  The  principle  of  Labour.  That  every  man  is  bound 
to  service— the  service  of  God  and  man.  Labour 
and  service  are  to  be  here  understood  in  their 
widest  and  most  inclusive  sense  ;  but  in  some  sense 
they  are  obligatory  on  all.  The  wilfully  idle  man, 
and  the  man  who  lives  only  for  himself,  are  out  of 
place  in  a  Christian  community.  Work,  accordingly, 
is  not  to  be  looked  upon  as  an  irksome  necessit}- 
for  some,  but  as  the  honourable  task  and  privilege 
of  all. 

(c)  The  principle  of  Justice.     God  is  no  respecter  of 

persons.  Inequalities,  indeed,  of  every  kind  are 
inwoven  with  the  whole  providential  order  of 
human  life,  and  are  recognized  emphatically  in  our 
Lord's  words.  But  the  social  order  cannot  ignore 
the  interests  of  any  of  its  parts,  and  must,  moreover, 
be  tested  by  the  degree  in  which  it  secures  for  each 
freedom  for  happy,  useful,  and  untrammelled  life, 
and  distributes,  as  widely  and  equitably  as  may  be, 
social  advantages  and  opportunities. 

(d)  The  principle  of  Public  Responsibility.  A  Christian 
community,  as  a  whole,  is  morally  responsible  for 


Note  G  2.-^-1 


the  character  of  its  own  economic  and  social  order, 
and  for  deciding  to  what  extent  matters  aftecting 
that  order  are  to  be  left  to  individual  initiative,  and 
to  the  unregulated  play  of  economic  forces.    Factor}' 
and  sanitary  legislation,  the  institution  of  Govern- 
ment  labour    departments    and   the   influence    of 
Government,  or  of  public  opinion  and  the  press,  or 
of  eminent  citizens,  in  helping  to  avoid  or  reconcile 
industrial  conflicts,  are  instances  in  point. 
'  2.  Christian  opinion  should  be  awake  to  repudiate  and 
condemn  either  open  breaches  of  social  justice  and  dut}^ 
or  maxims  and  principles  of  an  un-Christian  character. 
It  ought  to  condemn  the  belief  that  economic  conditions 
are    to   be   left    to    the   action   of   material    causes    and 
mechanical  laws,  uncontrolled  by  any  moral  responsibility. 
It  can  pronounce  certain  conditions  of  labour  to  be  in- 
tolerable.    It  can   insist   that    the   employer's    personal 
responsibihty,  as  such,  is  not  lost  by  his  membership  in 
a  commercial  or  industrial  Company.     It  can  press  upon 
retail  purchasers  the  obligation  to  consider  not  onl}''  the 
cheapness  of  the  goods  supplied  to  them,  but  also  the 
probable  conditions  of  their  production.     It  can  speak 
plainly  of  evils  which  attach   to  the  economic  system 
under  which  we  live,  such  as  certain  forms  of  luxurious 
extravagance,  the  widespread  pursuit  of  money  by  finan- 
cial gambling,  the  dishonesties  of  trade  into  which  men 
are  driven  by  feverish  competition,  and  the  violences  and 
reprisals  of  industrial  warfare. 

'  It  is  plain  that  in  these  matters  disapproval  must  take 
every  diiferent  shade,  from  plain  condemnation  of  un- 
doubted wrong  to  tentative  opinions  about  better  and 
worse.  Accordingly  any  organic  action  of  the  Church, 
or  any  action  of  the  Church's  officers,  as  such,  should  be 
very  carefully  restricted  to  cases  where  the  rule  of  right 
is  practically  clear,  and  much  the  larger  part  of  the  matter 


278      The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

should  be  left  to  the  free  and  flexible  agency  of  the 
awakened  Christian  conscience  of  the  community  at  large, 
and  of  its  individual  members. 

'  If  the  Christian  conscience  be  thus  awakened  and 
active,  it  will  secure  the  best  administration  of  particular 
systems,  while  they  exist,  and  the  modification  or  change 
of  them,  when  this  is  required  by  the  progress  of  know- 
ledge, thought,  and  life. 

'  It  appears  to  follow  from  what  precedes  that  the  great 
need  of  the  Church,  in  this  connexion,  is  the  growth  and 
extension  of  a  serious,  intelligent,  and  sympathetic  opinion 
on  these  subjects,  to  which  numberless  Christians  have 
as  yet  never  thought  of  applying  Christian  principles. 
There  has  been  of  late  no  little  improvement  in  this 
respect,  but  much  remains  to  be  done,  and  with  this  view 
the  Committee  desire  to  make  the  following  definite 
recommendation. 

'  They  suggest  that,  wherever  possible,  there  should  be 
formed,  as  a  part  of  local  Church  organization,  Com- 
mittees consisting  chiefly  of  laymen,  whose  work  should 
be  to  study  social  and  industrial  problems  from  the 
Christian  point  of  view,  and  to  assist  in  creating  and 
strengthening  an  enlightened  public  opinion  in  regard  to 
such  problems,  and  promoting  a  more  active  spirit  of  social 
service,  as  a  part  of  Christian  duty. 

'  Such  Committees,  or  bodies  of  Church  workers  in  the 
way  of  social  service,  while  representing  no  one  class  of 
society,  and  abstaining  from  taking  sides  in  any  disputes 
between  classes,  should  fearlessly  draw  attention  to  the 
various  causes  in  our  economic,  industrial,  and  social 
system,  which  call  for  remedial  measures  on  Christian 
principles.' 

Abundant  illustration  of  the  kind  of  matters  with  which 
such  Committees  might  deal  will  be  found  in  the  report. 


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